A Strange Business
by Super Chocolate Bear
Summary: Stranded across the galaxy, five members of the expanded Titans must learn to trust and rely on each other like never before.
1. Filling the Gaps

Disclaimer: I don't own _Teen Titans._

_**A Strange Business**_

_**Chapter One: Filling in the Gaps**_

The doors to the Titans Tower couldn't open fast enough for Hot Spot. The fight with Plasmus had been long and hard, and the slimy creature/man/thing had still gotten away. And worse, nobody knew how he escaped his icy prison.

Hot Spot wasn't used to this kind of crowded atmosphere, especially in the cities. He lived in a fairly small rural town in Morocco, and the sudden transition to Jump City wasn't exactly going down well with him. He sighed and powered down as he entered, enjoying the break from the constant concentration needed to keep up his glowing powered form.

Judging from the faces on the other's faces, he wasn't the only one who was finding it difficult living and working here. Red Star was constantly silent, having little or no contact with any of the Titans except Starfire. The only kind of communication he and the hulking Russian had had were terse nods over crowded rooms. Not that Hot Spot minded; he wasn't exactly that much of a people person himself.

As they entered the common room area, Hot Spot only just realised how huge the room was when there wasn't thirty plus teenage heroes occupying it. All of the others were away on missions, though Robin had told him that some where on their way back. The only Titans in the tower (and in the city) were himself, Robin, Starfire, Red Star and Argent.

Hot Spot raised an eyebrow as he considered the British heroine. She was one of the few that had made the transition from solo hero to member of the Titans most easily. Hot Spot couldn't wait to get back to Morocco, but somehow Robin and the others had convinced him to stay, at least temporarily. Only Kid Flash and Pantha seemed to make the transition so effortlessly. The former because of his easy going nature, and the second because…

Well, Hot Spot didn't know why Pantha seemed so comfortable with the other Titans. Perhaps it was her link with Wildebeest, maybe it was something else. He had seen her and Red Star talking an awful lot…

He shook his head to remove the thoughts from his mind as he sat on the sofa. He looked out the window and considered the view. There were _some _perks to working with this team. He looked around the room and saw Red Star already leaving, though that didn't surprise Hot Spot in the least. Robin and Starfire were stood at the window, looking out over the city.

Argent sat down next to him, blowing on her mug of what Hot Spot assumed was tea. She took a cautious sip and her face scrunched up, a 'bleah' look crossing her face. Hot Spot smiled.

"Bad tea?"

The pale skinned Brit shook her head. "Worse. Bloody _herbal _tea."

"I've heard Raven likes that stuff. It must be all they have in."

She took a whiff of the brown liquid and her nose scrunched up. "Well, that lady has some strange taste in tea, let me tell you." She set the mug down on the table, and a silence settled between them.

"So," she began, "how are you finding life with the great 'Teen Titans'?"

Hot Spot shrugged. "It's okay, I guess. But I have to admit, I was happier just being a member who didn't have to do much."

"Feeling homesick, eh?"

"Yeah. I haven't been back there since the Brotherhood of Evil froze me."

"What was that… like? Being frozen, I mean?"

Hot Spot shuddered slightly at the memory. "I wasn't aware of time passing around me. One minute, I was in that chamber with that icy gas all around me, then the next…"

"You were fightin' every bloody villain in the world."

"Pretty much, yeah." He looked over at her, a quizzical eyebrow cocked. "And you? How are you finding working with the Titans?"

Starfire, meanwhile, had finished her conversation with Robin and left the room, giving a small wave to the two as she passed them.

Argent closed her eyes and shrugged nonchalantly. "It has its ups and downs. But… there are some perks…" she said, her eyes drifting over to where Robin was stood, still looking out over the city. Hot Spot had never been that perceptive about that kind of thing, but even _he _knew that she wasn't talking about the view of the city.

He suddenly felt quite awkward. "Oh… well, yeah, uh, I guess there are…uh…" He pointed to the door. "I'm gonna go… to the gym! Yeah, the gym. Uh, see you later!" He got up and tried to walk as casually as he could to the doors. Once the doors closed behind him, he blew out a deep breath.

Living with the Titans was a very strange business.

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_What was that about?_

Argent looked at the doors where Hot Spot had just madly dashed through, a thoroughly confused look on her face.

"What's wrong with Hot Spot?"

She quickly turned to see Robin, still stood at the windows, but having turned to face her. Tucking some hair behind her ear, she shrugged.

"Dunno. He just took off; said he was going to the gym."

The Boy Wonder scratched his chin, looking away absentmindedly. "Hmm. Maybe he's finding the transition harder than I thought…" He looked over at her. "Did he say anything to you?"

"He said he was a little homesick, but that's about it."

Robin nodded. "Right. Thanks, Argent."

He walked past her and to the doors, and Argent quickly turned.

"You wouldn't happen to know where a girl could get a decent cup of tea in this city?" she said suddenly, and Robin turned to look at her. "Maybe a coffee shop or something?"

He smiled. "I know just the place. Just let me talk to Hot Spot, and then I'll show a great café in the city."

"Okay. I'll see you later."

He nodded with an easy smile and then left. Satisfied with herself, Argent turned and put her feet up on the table, crossing her legs. She heard a loud clink as she knocked over the cup of herbal tea she had put on there earlier. A shrug was her only response as she went to get a cloth. Nothing could break her good mood now.

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"Red Star?"

Silence was the only response as Starfire walked onto the roof. Surely enough, Red Star was sat on the edge of the roof looking over the city, his military issue hat and goggles removed to reveal the deep red hair and glowing green eyes beneath. He held a sketch pad and pencil in hand, diligently scribbling details away on the paper.

"You left as soon as we arrived home. Is something wrong?"

He still didn't respond. She reached forward and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Red Star?"

He sighed. "Please, Starfire. You have earned the right to call me Leonid."

Starfire paused. "You are right. I apologise." She peeked over his shoulder and gasped at the beautiful canvas that had been drawn. "Leonid… that is-"

"-incomplete, I know. We were called away before I could finish. That is why I left so abruptly at the conclusion of our mission."

"I… see." Starfire cautiously took a seat beside her friend. "Why did you not respond when I called you earlier?"

"You were calling me? I apologise. I was very much engrossed with my work." He looked up at her, a slight smile on his face. "I am not used to so many people being around me."

The red haired Tamaranian rest a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "You will adapt. It will take time, but you will get there."

He nodded slowly. "I know. I am merely thankful that I _can _be around all these people once again." He looked over at her. "Thanks to your help."

"You helped yourself to control your powers. I merely showed you the way to do so."

His usual kind smile returned. "In any case, I have much to thank you for."

Red Star resumed his drawing. After a brief pause, Starfire looked over at her friend. "I see you have been talking to Pantha very frequently."

His hand slipped, and the pencil broke. Grumbling something unintelligible, he put it aside and pulled another pencil from the case next to him. "She has great strength," he said quietly. He looked over at her.

"I see _you _have been talking to Robin very frequently."

Starfire blushed, and a small smirk appeared on Red Star's face. He resumed his drawing, satisfied with this small victory over his friend. It felt good for him to be able to joke around with someone. Even before he was experimented on by his superiors, he was never the most popular person. He was frequently on the receiving end of practical jokes, hurtful jibes and painful beatings. Now… the feeling he had of having such wonderful people surrounding him was indescribable.

"How many drawings such as this have you done?"

Red Star raised his head and looked up to the clouds, mentally counting. "Too many to count. As I said, I had much free time." He paused. "I still do, in a way."

Starfire nodded. "With the majority of our enemies frozen, it _does _seem like we have less and less to do. Although Plasmus' return does not bode well."

"Indeed not."

The two shared a silence as they looked out over the city, watching as the people of the city went about their business, unaware of the danger they were constantly in.

"It is… very busy here, is it not?"

Starfire smiled and nodded. "It is. That was one of my first observations when I first joined the Titans."

Red Star looked over at his orange skinned friend. "How _did _you join the Titans?"

Reluctance spread across Starfire's face. Red Star nodded. "I understand if it is too painful. Some other day, perhaps."

"No," Starfire replied, still looking out over the city. She took a deep breath and looked over to him, a smile on her lips. "You readily told us your past. I will tell you mine." She paused for a moment before continuing.

"I was not the first born in my family. My elder sister, Blackfire, was the first. However, for several reasons, she was deemed unfit to occupy the throne."

And eyebrow arched on Red Star's face. "You are royalty?"

Starfire nodded, blushing slightly. After making sure that Red Star had taken this in, she continued. "She eventually left in anger, and allied herself with the Citadel, an evil empire that controlled the star system that surrounded Tamaran. Up to that point, we had been able to fight away the Citadel and their Gordanian forces. But Blackfire…" Starfire's eyes began to show the pain of the memories, and Red Star put a supportive hand on her shoulder. She sighed as she looked over at him.

"…Blackfire helped the Citadel to overtake our planet. After much fighting, they agreed to leave Tamaran, but on one condition; I was to be given over to them as a slave, because of the special abilities granted to me by my heritage. My parents had no choice but to agree, lest the entire planet be destroyed. The Gordanians were to deliver me to the Citadel, but not before handing me over to the Psions. But the Citadel is an evil and treacherous race, and they handed my sister over to the Psions also. We were subjected to endless experiments and torture. This…"

She held up her hand, the green glow reflecting off her orange skin perfectly. "…was the result of those experiments. Afterwards, I was separated from my sister and handed back over to the Gordanians for transportation to the Citadel. However, I broke free and landed on Earth, where Robin-" she paused. "Where the _Titans_ helped me to defeat the Gordanians when they pursued me to Earth."

"What happened to Blackfire?"

"She escaped from her imprisonment also, and ended up wanted in many star systems for theft of priceless artefacts and jewels. She came to Earth and attempted to fool the authorities from those star systems into thinking that _I _was the criminal they were after."

"She does not sound like what a sister should be."

Starfire sighed and shook her head. "No, she is not." She was silent for a moment as she looked out over the city. "And yet, even after all she has done, I still love her."

Red Star laid a gloved hand on her bare shoulder. "As a _good _sister should." Starfire smiled and put a hand on his.

"Thank you."

"Did the Citadel ever come back for you?"

"No. At first, I was most concerned about their eventual return, but gradually, it seemed like less and less a reality."

Red Star smiled and squeezed her shoulder. "Thank you for telling me. I know it must not have been easy for you."

She shook her head. "I wanted to do it." She looked into his glowing green eyes. "There should be no secrets between friends."

The two friends looked out over the city.

Red Star continuing his drawing with renewed invigoration.

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The dust billowed outward from the handlebars as Hot Spot balanced himself on his arms. He thrust himself upwards and letting go of the bars. He turned in midair, grabbing onto the two handle bars as he landed. Keeping his breathing steady, he began swinging his legs back and forth until he had sufficient momentum built up. He swung his legs forward and let go of the bars, hurling himself forward as his body twirled backwards. He landed perfectly on his feet with a thud, his arms outstretched to either side of his body.

Robin applauded from where he was stood in the doorway, smiling as he did so.

"Good form."

Still breathless, Hot Spot shrugged as he dabbed his drenched forehead with a towel. "You need it in my town. There are so many high walls and fences; it helps to be able to just run from rooftop to rooftop."

The Boy Wonder nodded. "I know the feeling…" He looked over to the large blank area covered by training mats. "How about a quick spar?" he said, nodding over to the mats.

Hot Spot tossed the towel away, smirking. "Let's go."

The two carefully circled one another. Hot Spot quickly jabbed several times, and Robin easily blocked.

"So…did you come here just to spar, or is there something else you wanted to talk about?"

Robin leapt forward, swinging his right leg around to catch Hot Spot in the head. The Moroccan easily ducked the kick. Robin landed on his feet and back flipped away, narrowly avoiding a kick of Hot Spot's. He skidded backwards as he landed.

"You seemed to leave in an awful hurry back there. I asked Argent, and she said you're feeling homesick."

Hot Spot charged forward and swung his fist forward. Robin blocked the first blow, ducked the second, and grabbed the third, turning with the momentum of the punch and throwing Hot Spot across the mat. Hot Spot flipped in mid air and easily landed on his feet. He quickly turned to face the Boy Wonder.

"So I'm feeling a little homesick. What's your point?" he panted, striking a ready fighting stance.

Robin leapt forward, landing halfway to Hot Spot on his hands, flipping forward so his leg came downwards on the Moroccan hero. He darted to his left and rolled away, the Boy Wonder's leg slamming down on the mat with a thud. A thin layer of dust billowed upward.

The two began to circle each other again.

"I just wanted to know if you're committed to the team. If you want to go back to Morocco and the way things were, I'll understand." Hot Spot charged forward, leading with a kick aimed for Robin's gut. Robin sucked in his belly, narrowly avoiding it. His opponent didn't stop his barrage there. He continued to hurl his fists towards the Titan leader, until Robin grabbed both of his fists and raised them upwards. Robin looked his team-mate directly in the eyes. "I'm not going to force you to stay, Hot Spot."

The Moroccan smirked and quickly grabbed Robin's wrists with a flick of his own, leaning backwards and pulling Robin over on top of him. Planting a foot on Robin's stomach, he propelled the Boy Wonder over him and onto his back, landing with a painful thud on the mat. The two slowly got to their feet, equally out of breath. Robin smiled.

"Good match."

Hot Spot wiped his brow. "Thanks." He walked over to where he had left his towel, and pulled out two cans of soda from his bag. Tossing one to Robin, he greedily chugged down his can. After wiping off any leftovers from his bottom lip and belching incredibly loud, he looked over at the Boy Wonder.

"Look… I may feel like going back, but as long as I'm needed here, I'll stick around. I just don't want to neglect my home, you know?"

Robin took a sip of soda and nodded. "We're still getting used to having so many members. There are people like Thunder and Lightning, who decided to go back to their homes. I just wanted you to know that I'll understand if or when you decide to go."

"Thanks."

Robin nodded and smiled, finishing off his soda and throwing it into the nearby trash can. "Hey, we're going into the city for some coffee. You're welcome to join us if you want."

Hot Spot raised a polite hand. "Thanks, but I'd rather stay here. You need _someone_ to mind the shop while you're away, right?"

"Right," the Boy Wonder replied. He turned to leave.

"By the way," Hot Spot began, causing Robin to turn to look at him. "Who's going with you?"

"Well, it was Argent's idea, but I'm going to ask Starfire and Red Star if they want to go."

"Oh…" Hot Spot replied, a slight smile on his face.

A jet black eyebrow rose beneath Robin's mask. "Why?"

Hot Spot merely shrugged in response. "Just curious. Have fun."

Pausing for a moment, the Boy Wonder turned and left, wondering what the hell just happened. As soon as the door closed behind him, Hot Spot couldn't help but laugh at the situation that would unfold at the café.

Living with the Titans was a strange business. But that didn't mean it wasn't fun.

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Argent rested her head on her hand, pushing her cheek upward as she looked on in annoyance. When Robin had said yes, she had assumed he meant _alone_. Not 'I'll bring the big Russian fella and the supermodel from another planet'.

Robin and said supermodel from another planet were sat on one side of the table, laughing and talking amongst themselves while Red Star sipped happily at his tea, simply looking out at the city. Argent couldn't help but like the smile on his face. He was completely oblivious to the looks he was getting, being fully dressed in his Russian army uniform like he was. His smile was so simple, so… genuine. Like someone who hadn't been at peace in a long time.

Another giggle from Starfire brought Argent's attention to the opposite side of the table again. Robin was smiling himself, and then suddenly stood, holding his hand out to the Tamaranian.

"C'mon, let me show you the view."

"What view, Robin? We are on ground level."

The Boy Wonder smiled mischievously and pulled out his grappling hook, pointing it straight upwards. He fired it, and it attached itself to the ledge of the tall skyscraper above them. Starfire backed away, giggling as Robin pursued.

"No, Robin, no- EEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

Robin grabbed her around her waist and activated the pulling mechanism on his grappling hook, pulling them upwards and out of sight. Argent nudged Red Star's arm, who looked over at her with a polite smile on his face.

"So… I'm guessing those two are pretty tight?"

He shrugged. "I have assumed as much. But then again, I am not very good at observing such things."

Argent considered this.

_Maybe they're just good friends. They've worked together since the beginning of the Teen Titans, whenever the hell that was. _

_Or maybe it's a physical thing._

_That _option didn't particularly surprise Argent. Even she could see how attractive the Tamaranian was. In fact, her first thought when she met Starfire was 'the Teen Titan boys must feel pretty well off.'

She was removed from her thoughts by the tune of an incoming transmission on her communicator. Red Star heard it also, pulling out his communicator. He seemed ready to open it, but cast an unsure gaze upwards.

Robin and Starfire suddenly landed, looking quite flushed and embarrassed.

Robin cleared his throat. "Ahem… erm…" He pulled out his communicator and opened it. "Robin."

Hot Spot's voice came over the communicator.

"_I was calling you for like five minutes! I had to call Red Star and Argent! What kept you?"_

The red in Robin's cheeks deepened. "Sorry. We were…" he looked back at Starfire, and the two shared a private laugh. "…occupied." He face suddenly became serious. "What's the problem?"

"_The computer's saying we've got a distress call coming in from someplace called Tamaran."_

Starfire gasped and grabbed on to Robin's shoulder, looking over so she could see Hot Spot. "What does it say?"

"_Nothing. It's just a distress call, repeating over and over again."_

Fear gripped the Tamaranian's features. She grabbed Robin's shoulder. "Robin, we have to leave for Tamaran at once!"

"I know, Star, but we can't just leave the City unprotected."

Hot Spot paused on the other end. _"Looks like we won't have to. Cyborg's about an hour away from home."_

Robin nodded grimly. "All right. We'll be there as fast as we can."

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Hot Spot was glad he wasn't the only one who had never flown into space. A cursory glance over at Argent confirmed that she was pretty much ready to pee her pants too.

"Uh… don't we need training for this?" he asked nervously over the comm.

"_You've gotten training on how to fly them; that's all you'll need. Cyborg's fitted the T-Ship to adapt to the take off and landings," _Robin replied quickly, tersely cutting off the transmission.

"Well, as long as it adapts to the take-offs and landings…" Hot Spot muttered to himself, his voice laden with sarcasm.

"_So how long are you guys going to be gone?" _Cyborg asked, the concern on his face making Robin grimace.

"There's no way to tell. We'll be out of communications range for awhile, so don't try to contact us."

"_Just be careful, all right?"_

Robin nodded. "You too. Plasmus is causing more damage than he usually does."

"_Right. See you later."_

Robin signed off and prepped the ship for launch. He brought the mouthpiece to his lips. "Everybody ready?"

Starfire responded first. _"Yes, let us please make haste."_

Then came Argent. _"Aside from needing some new underwear, I'm fine."_

Then Hot Spot. _"Same over here."_

"_I am ready." _

Red Star's confident voice actually did something to calm Starfire's frayed nerves. She was glad that he was coming on the mission with them. She had a feeling that he and Galfore would get along well. Her eyes misted over at the thought of her K'Norfka. She hoped that he was all right. As Grand Ruler, he would be a prime target for any enemies attacking the planet. And, knowing Galfore, he would be on the front lines, protecting his planet.

Robin nodded. "All right then. Let's go."

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The take-off wasn't as bad as Hot Spot had anticipated. Robin was right; the ship had taken care of the take-off side effects. The only thing that he had felt was his ears popping. That and the incredible pressure that embedded him in his chair. But that wasn't what was on Hot Spot's mind at that moment.

He was in space. There was nothing between him and the vast emptiness except a thin layer of glass. He felt like he should have been scared, but he wasn't. He was just excited.

_So this is what being a Teen Titan feels like._

Argent's smooth voice came over the comm. _"So, this Tamaran place… I'm guessing it's important?"_

Starfire replied slowly, with a hint of sadness tainting her usually cheerful voice. _"It is my home planet."_

There was a pause on the other end, and Hot Spot knew that she was processing the idea that Starfire was _actually _from another planet. Red Star interrupted their conversation.

"_How long will the journey take?"_

Robin's authoritative voice came over the frequency. _"A few hours at least. It **is** quite far away. Starfire, we're going to have to cut across Val-Yor's sector of space to make better time."_

"_I understand, Robin."_

Hot Spot's eyebrow rose. "Valy-what?"

Robin was silent for a moment before responding. _"He's-"_

He was interrupted by an explosion rocking the ship. Hot Spot yelped in protest, pushing his hands outwards to get a grip on the pod.

"What's going on?"

Starfire, ignoring his question, spoke. _"Robin, do you recognise those ships?"_

Robin's grim voice gave the reply. _"Yeah - they're Gordanian."_

A quick look out his window answered Hot Spot's earlier question.

_Oh, God. I'm in the middle of Star Wars._

Living with the Titans wasn't just a strange business. It was freakin' scary one.

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(A/N: Well, _that _took awhile to write.

And yes, Red Star's artistic side is a _total _rip of X-Men's Colossus. Doing a bit of stereotyping there, I suppose, but it seemed to suit Red Star's character. After all, he had a lot of time to himself in that bunker.

Argent's crush on Robin is reminiscent of Rogue's crush on Scott in _X-men: Evolution_ too, come to think of it. But it's from the _Teen Titans _comics, I swear! Argent had a crush on older Titan Nightwing, and since I'm assuming this Robin is Dick Grayson… well, there you go.

Anyway, review!)


	2. Music and Trees

Disclaimer: I don't own _Teen Titans._

_**A Strange Business**_

**_Chapter Two: Music and Trees_**

Before he joined the army, he had always enjoyed looking up at the stars. There was something so beautiful about them, so unattainable yet so close. His love of the stars had gone on until _that _experiment forced him to close himself off from the world. That was one of the things he had missed the most during his self imposed exile; the ability to simply lie on the ground and look up at the stars, wondering what was out there.

Then he was set adrift in space all those months ago, where he learnt how to control and use his powers properly without the worry of endangering the lives of others. He had also learnt something else; he could survive in space. He had felt almost ecstatic when he had learned this. At first, he thought it was a side-effect of his overcharged form, but once he had control of the power raging inside him... needless to say, he was rather pleased.

And yet, here he was, again stranded in space, although now he had none of the freedom he had before. He was trapped in a pod, slowly orbiting a planet with orange clouds and red seas. He looked over at the pod next to him and noticed that she seemed to be waking up. Grasping for his communicator headset, he quickly put it on and pushed the outgoing signal button.

"Starfire? Can you hear me?"

No response. He looked over at the pod, then pushed the button again.

"Starfire?"

Slowly, she reached up and pushed the button on her headset. _"I am… fine."_ She looked out around her. _"What has happened?"_

"What is the last thing you remember?"

"_We were under attack from-" _she gasped. _"-the Gordanians! Where are they? Are they still-?"_

"They are gone; at least for the moment. They attacked us with a weapon that shorted out the circuitry. You were at the center of the effect."

"_Yes… I remember."_

"We were separated from the others. I do not know what has happened to them. I did not want to try anything until you were awake."

Although he could only see her silhouette through the glass on the pod, he could tell she was smiling.

"_Thank you."_

A small smile crossing his lips, he looked down at the planet curiously. "How are we going to leave?"

"_I am not sure… there is not enough power left in these systems to fly away."_

He eyed the glass surrounding his pod. "We can both survive in space; perhaps we should leave the pods behind?"

"_We cannot. As durable as we are, if the Gordanians attacked us with the same weapon as before, we would not survive. Besides," _she said, knocking on the glass, _"Cyborg has made quite certain that these pods cannot be broken easily."_

A frown creased Red Star's brow. "Then… what can we do?"

Starfire sighed. _"At this moment we can do nothing. We will have to either think of something, or hope that Robin and the others find us."_

Red Star's expression darkened. "I do not like that plan."

"_Nor do I. And not only that, but we have another problem."_

The hulking Russian's arms slumped. "Oh, there is more?"

"_Unfortunately, yes. Our orbit around the planet has not been properly calculated. Without power to move us away, we will begin to sink further until we burn up in the atmosphere."_

"How long?"

"_I am not certain. You would have to ask an expert on the matter." _There was silence on her end for a moment. _"I only hope it is long enough for us to think of something."_

Red Star nodded, blowing out a deep breath. "Indeed." He looked around the pod absentmindedly, his eyes eventually settling for gazing at the stars that surrounded them. "So," he began, bringing his eyes down to Starfire's pod, "what do you want to talk about while we wait and think?"

Starfire was silent for a moment. _"Pantha?"_

He could practically see the grin on her face.

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He was stuck in a tree.

Not that this wasn't something unheard of for him; when he was a kid, he always used to climb too high in the trees. But this was different.

This tree was blue. And it also made disturbing gurgling noises. Hot Spot wasn't sure whether to panic, blast the damn thing, or simply wait for the others to find him. If the others were even alive, that is.

He hated waiting. Actually, strike that. He didn't mind waiting under normal circumstances. If he was honest, he wasn't easily bored. Hot Spot could sit around for about an hour doing nothing and feel perfectly normal. What other people called boring, he called relaxing.

But while he didn't hate waiting, he _did _hate waiting when he was trapped in a tree that could potentially swallow him whole as a midmorning snack. His mind briefly flitted back to Charlie Brown and the kite eating tree. He probably would have laughed…

"…if I wasn't about to be eaten by some alien tree!" he said aloud in frustration, slamming his fist against the glass covering of the pod. He had no idea what Cyborg had made the stuff out of, but he certainly couldn't blast it open. And he was pretty sure the pod was airtight, so he didn't want to waste oxygen trying to melt it.

He sighed and rested his head on his hand. He resumed his random button pushing, hoping that one of them would open the glass covering.

Hell, he'd settle for an ejector seat.

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The Boy Wonder rubbed his head and groaned as he came back to the land of living. He blinked as he realised he was upside down. Pulling out a small device in his belt, Robin found that the air outside was breathable.

"Huh."

Reaching down (or up, in his case), he pushed the necessary button combination to open the hatch.

Nothing happened. Robin tried the combination again.

Again, nothing happened. The Titan leader frowned in thought, then realised something.

_That Gordanian weapon… it must have shorted out the power._

He frowned as he considered the fact that the Gordanians attacked them out of nowhere. It was like they _knew _they were going to be there. Almost as if it were a trap. Robin cursed his ignorance. In his haste to get to Tamaran, he didn't even bother to check whether the transmission was genuine. Conceivably, anyone who had knowledge of Starfire's lineage would be able to set such a trap. He put those thoughts aside for the moment; right now he needed to concentrate on getting free.

He pushed up on the glass, but quickly gave up after he remembered the long and sprawling show that Cyborg had put on for them to demonstrate how indestructible the glass was. At the time, he had been rather impressed.

"_Nothing, I repeat, NOTHING, can get through this baby," Cyborg had said, grinning ear to ear as he patted the glass._

Now Robin hated him for it. Thinking quickly, he pulled out a small electricity birdarang from his belt. Delicately taking it apart, he managed to hook the power from the small weapon into the pod. It wasn't much power, but it should be enough to pop the hatch and capsize the pod back up the right way. He hooked in the birdarang, and pushed the hatch release button.

_Or… not._

He sighed as nothing happened. He pulled out his other electric birdarangs and hooked them up. He pushed the button again. The hatch opened, and the pod tilted onto its side, slowly rotating until it landed with a crash, hurtling Robin back and forth inside the cockpit.

As he rubbed his sore shoulders, he wasn't sure whether to be grateful or frustrated at how well the seatbelts held. Grumbling incoherently, he pulled himself out of the pod and leapt onto the ground.

"Well… this is different."

He allowed his cape to drape over his shoulders and arms as he took stock of his surroundings. A barren wasteland as far as the eye could see, the ground dry and cracked. Although, curiously enough, the air wasn't chafing his throat or stinging his eyes. In fact, he would almost call the air… moist. Not an unpleasant feeling, but it wasn't exactly a wonderful one either.

The sky was a deep pink, and Robin wondered what time of day it was on this planet. If this planet was inhabited by anyone who even kept time. As he turned full circle he noticed a plume of smoke in the distance. He sprinted off in the direction of the smoke, praying that whoever was inside was still alive.

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"_How are you feeling?"_

_Argent smiled. "I'm okay. A little double vision never hurt anyone."_

_Robin let out a small laugh, letting his gaze remain on her. "You scared me for a bit there."_

_She nervously tucked some hair behind her ear. "How d'you mean?"_

"_Well… it would have been a shame for you not to know how I felt about you."_

_Argent blurted out a short laugh, and Robin smiled handsomely._

"_You've got a nice laugh…" he leant forward, brushing some hair from her face. He leaned closer…_

"_Wait, Robin; what about Starfire?"_

_He smiled. "What about her?" he whispered._

_He leaned ever closer…_

"Argent? Can you hear me?"

The pale skinned Brit scrunched up her face, not wanting to open her eyes. That would mean admitting that what just happened was a dream.

Nope. She wasn't going to go there.

_Hold on to the illusion… it's much better than the reality…_

"Argent?"

_Bugger._

She slowly opened her eyes, revealing the blurry image of Robin leant over her, his brow creased with worry. He let out a breath as her eyes adjusted to the light. As the blurriness faded, she could make out the Boy Wonder smiling.

"How are you feeling?"

She sat up, putting a hand to her head. "I'm okay. A splitting headache never hurt anyone."

Robin smiled. "You had me worried for a bit there."

She cocked an eyebrow, getting a strong sense of déjà vu. "How d'you mean?"

_Bloody hell. Maybe it wasn't a dream. Maybe it was a premonition._

"Well, when I found you, you were out cold and trapped in that pod."

_Guess not._

"Oh… right."

Robin stood and offered her his hand. She took it gratefully.

"Thanks." A frown crossed her features as she looked around the barren landscape. "Where are we?"

Robin shrugged. "No idea. I'm not too sure of the names of these planets."

Her eyes widened. "We're on _another planet?"_

The eyes of his mask thinned as he looked around. "Yeah." He pulled out his communicator, flipping it open. "Calling any Titan; please respond. Can you read me? Hot Spot? Red Star?" He paused. "Starfire…"

Argent debated whether to put a supportive hand on his shoulder. She didn't really know him that well. But then again, any comfort might be considered good at this point. After taking in the look on his face, Argent decided to leave it alone. He looked like a strange mixture of anger, frustration and sadness.

Suddenly, the communicator beeped, and Argent looked up to the heavens, thanking God for the interruption. Robin frantically pushed the receive button.

"Starfire?"

"_Sorry, no; it's Hot Spot."_

"Hot Spot - Where are you? Are the others with you?"

"_I don't know… and I don't know. I can't really see anything besides this man-eating tree."_

Argent frowned, and turned to Robin.

"Man-eating tree?" she mouthed. Robin shrugged.

"Hot Spot… did you say a man-eating tree?"

"_Yes, and I'm pretty much stuck, so I would enjoy any help you could offer."_

Robin frowned and nodded. "All right; we're on our way." A small smile crossed his face. "Just stay put."

Hot Spot let out an ironic laugh. _"The sarcasm? Not appreciated."_

The Boy Wonder pushed a button on his communicator, activating the tracking system inside. He pointed to his right.

"That way."

He started walking, leaving a dumbfounded Argent looking from him to the crashed ship, and back again.

"Uh… what about…?"

He threw a quick cursory glance over his shoulder, then turned back. "All of the ships are out of power. We'll have to come back for them. Right now, the other Titans are the priority."

She paused momentarily, then nodded. "Right."

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The double doors slammed open, and Cyborg leapt through, striking a pose as he landed.

"Oh, yeah! We kicked his butt in record time!"

"Gnarrk."

He nodded in agreement with his cave man friend. "Good point. It _is _pretty quiet. Robin and Starfire must have taken everyone with them. Still, I would have thought _someone _was here. Beast Boy, Raven and Bushido are supposed to be back by now."

Kole walked over to the comm system on the wall and pushed the button for the common room.

"Hello? Anyone there?"

The half metal giant shrugged.

Jericho tapped his shoulder, following up with a whole serious of complicated hand gestures. As soon as Cyborg had realised that there would be a whole host of people from different ethnic backgrounds, he had gone to work downloading different languages into his personal database, and that included sign language. It enabled him to understand and respond in kind. His robotic eye took in the gestures and translated them into text.

"_They're probably out eating pizza."_

Cyborg nodded, his shoulders slumping. "What do you suppose the odds are of them bringing some back for us?"

Jericho's eyes closed halfway as he used his fingers to make a zero shape. Cyborg didn't need his cybernetic components to translate that.

"Yeah, that's what _I_ thought."

As they walked through the doors, Gnarrk ran forward and jumped onto the sofa, still finding such bouncy seats a novelty. From his life in that underground world, Gnarrk was only used to leaves as cushions and tree stumps as chairs. He wasn't used to something soft and comfortable.

Cyborg, meanwhile, was in the mood for some bacon. And with no Beast Boy in sight, it seemed his choice would go by with no protest.

"Who wants bacon?"

Kole raised a hand, as did Jericho. Gnarrk just looked up questioningly. "Gnarrk?"

The pink haired girl smiled. "It's that pink stuff we had before, Gnarrk."

He nodded in comprehension. "Gnarrk…" He turned to Cyborg, giving him a thumbs up. "Gnarrk!"

A grin spread across Cyborg's face. "Well all right!" And with that, he got to his cooking.

Kole turned to Jericho. "So, what do you want to do?"

The mute blond cast his blue eyes upwards for a moment, then raised a finger in an 'I've got an idea' gesture. He jumped up off the sofa and left the room, removing the smile from Kole's face, and replacing it with disappointment. She turned to look at the other occupants of the room. Gnarrk was wrestling with something in his ear with his little finger, while Cyborg whistled happily to himself as he fried his precious bacon.

Kole cocked an eyebrow at that. She had never understood why Cyborg getting to have real meat was such a big deal to the android.

"Hey Cyborg?"

"Yes, Kole?" he asked, his voice full of cheer.

"Why's having bacon such a big deal?"

Cyborg's demeanour darkened. "Just wait until Beast Boy's here. _Then _you'll understand."

Kole slowly turned back around, not wanting to push the issue further.

_O…kay._

Jericho returned and sat down next to her, his guitar in hand. The pink haired Titan's face brightened as he returned, a smile crossing her delicate features. Returning the smile, he pointed to Kole hopefully, then gestured to his mouth. She frowned as she tried to understand.

_My mouth… his mouth…_

Her eyes widened and a blush crossed her face.

"Um… uh, well… I…"

He frowned slightly, then blushed himself. He frantically waved his hand out in front of him as he shook his head, an embarrassed smile on his face. He looked downwards in thought. She smiled, half relieved and half… something else.

_What? Disappointed? No, that can't be right._

She studied the pondering face of Jericho. Saw the thoughtful eyes; the open smile.

_Then again…_

He looked over at her and gave a small wave to get her attention. First, he pointed at her mouth. Then, he put his hand in front of his mouth, then brought it outwards, spreading his fingers outwards as he did so. It reminded her of the gesture that top chefs made when they were particularly proud of a dish. He repeated the gesture and Kole smiled apologetically.

"Um… you want me to… throw up?"

He grinned good-naturedly. If he could speak, Kole assumed that he would be laughing right now. He repeated the gesture, going slower. Cyborg's booming voice interrupted the conversation from the kitchen.

"Hey Jericho, what's the problem?"

The mute looked over at the hulking half robot man and spoke in his own language. Cyborg nodded along as Jericho 'spoke'.

"Uh huh… I- oh." He smiled and looked over at Kole. "He wants you to sing, Kole."

She looked over at him in surprise, blushing furiously. "Uh, you want me- I- sing? I haven't really… I mean-"

He put a finger to his lips, that same genuine smile on his face. He strummed the guitar, then frowned. Reaching up, he tuned the guitar, becoming totally engrossed in the instrument. Kole's mind wasn't really paying much attention.

_Me? Sing? I can't sing. I mean, I haven't tried, but still…_

Jericho finished tuning, and strummed his guitar. Obviously satisfied, he nodded and looked over at Kole. He plucked a string and then extended his hand to her, obviously an invitation for her to sing the note.

"Uh… I-"

"BACON!"

"Gnarrk!"

The caveman excitedly leapt from the sofa and bounded over to the dinner table, where Cyborg was setting down a huge mound of bacon on the table. Kole looked over to Jericho.

"I guess we'll have to do this later."

His eyes lit up hopefully. She already knew what he was saying.

_So you want to do it?_

Kole frowned slightly. Had she just heard that? In her head? She shook her head and smiled.

"Yeah, sure. But…" she looked over to the table where Cyborg and Gnarrk were already scoffing down the bacon. She leant closer to whisper to him. The way he put his ear forward so earnestly made her want to laugh. "…could we do this somewhere else? I haven't sung before, so it'd be kind of embarrassing."

He cocked an eyebrow and smiled.

_I don't see how you singing could be embarrassing._

He shrugged.

_But, okay._

He pointed to the dinner table with his thumb. Kole hid her frown and nodded.

_Am I hearing his voice in my head now? Is that one of his powers?_

A loud beeping from the control panel at the front of the room interrupted her thoughts. Cyborg looked up from a handful of bacon. And a mouthful of bacon, come to think of it.

"Couldth you get thath?" he managed.

Kole nodded and went to the computer screen. Raven's hooded visage appeared.

"Hey, Raven."

"_Uh, hi. Is Robin there? Or Cyborg?"_

"Robin's away, and Cyborg…"

"HEY! I COOKED IT, THAT LAST PIECE IS MINE!"

"GNARRK!"

Raven sighed, her eyes resuming their half closed state. _"Let me guess: bacon?"_

Kole smiled and nodded as Beast Boy's voice came over the intercom. _"Is Cyborg eating REAL bacon? Dude!"_

"Thorry BB!"

Raven rubbed her eyes with her thumb and forefinger. _"Anyway… I wanted to tell you that you've got some visitors coming your way."_

"Like what? Bad guys?"

"_Not exactly. Melvin, Timmy and Teether are coming over to stay for about a week. I was supposed to be back by now, but this mission's taking longer than I thought."_

Kole cocked a pink eyebrow. "How come?"

A vein pulsed on Raven's temple. _"Because **someone** thought it would be a good idea to shove Overload into a river."_

"_Hey! I thought it would work!"_

"_**Not** when the river powers a turbine for a power station!"_

Beast Boy's voice lowered to something much less than a mumble. _"Yeah, well… you're stupid too…"_

"_I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that **for now**. But when we get home, you're open game."_

Kole raised a hand to interrupt the conversation. "Uh… when are the kids getting here?"

"_In about a day."_

An electronic beeping noise indicated that someone was at the door. Everyone looked at Raven accusingly. She let out the hint of a nervous smile.

"_I may not have taken the time zone difference into account."_

Beast Boy's voice once again came over the intercom. _"Told you you were stupid!"_

Raven scowled. _"I'll disengage your pod **right** now. I'm not kidding."_

Cyborg approached the monitor, the top half of his usually shining metal smeared with bacon grease. "And how long are _you_ going to be?"

"_It's hard to say. A few days at most, but that's just a guess."_

Kole smiled brightly. "It's no problem. I'm fine with kids anyway."

Raven sighed. _"Okay. Thanks. I'll see you later."_

The empath signed off and Kole sighed. So much for her singing lesson with Jericho. She pushed some buttons on the control panel and activated the comm system to the entrance. On the screen appeared Melvin, Timmy and Teether. Not to mention a huge teddy bear stood behind them. Resisting the urge to react strangely, she smiled as sweetly as she could manage.

"Uh, hi. I'll open the doors, and you guys can make your way up, okay?"

The small blond girl raised a hand.

"Yes?"

"_Um… where's Raven?"_

"She's away on a mission that's taking longer than she thought. She says she's sorry."

The red haired boy instantly burst into tears. _"I want Raven! I want Raven! Raven! Raven!"_

This, in turn, set of the baby, who let out a similarly eardrum bursting scream. The Titans covered their ears, and Kole sighed.

It was going to be a long day.

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The pod crashed to the ground loudly and anything _but _gently. But, at least he was out of the man-eating tree. He saw red energy slide its way underneath the hatch, gradually pulling the glass upwards and the metal of the pod downwards. Eventually, there was enough room for Hot Spot to slide through. He bounced to his feet quickly, enjoying straightening his spine out and stretching his legs out.

"Ah, that's-" he looked around the barren wasteland surrounding them. "-not what Earth looks like."

Argent smiled. "We're on another planet."

Normally, that would have freaked Hot Spot out. It was amazing what being attacked by alien spaceships, crash landing because of aforementioned attack, and almost being eaten by a tree could do to one's outlook on a situation.

"Oh," he answered simply, not having the energy or inclination to become agitated. He looked over at Robin. "So what now?"

He looked down at his communicator. "I'm not picking up Starfire or Red Star's communicator. So either they're out of range, or-" he cut himself off and closed his eyes. "Never mind."

Hot Spot looked up at the sky, shielding his eyes from the glaring sun with his hand. "How are we going to get back?"

"The ships are wrecked. We'll have to find some other way off the planet."

"So? Which way?"

Argent pointed over his shoulder. "That way."

Hot Spot and Robin looked over to see a spaceship taking off from some unseen location on the horizon. Robin nodded resolutely. Hot Spot frowned.

"Am I missing something? It's just a spaceship taking off."

"It took off from somewhere on this planet. That could mean there are other ships. We could hitch a ride."

"Oh, okay."

The Boy Wonder looked over at Argent. "Good job, Argent."

She winked at the compliment. "Thank you, Robin."

Robin blinked beneath his mask. He obviously wasn't too sure how to respond to a wink.

"Uh… let's go."

As the Titan leader led the way with the adoring Argent in tow, Hot Spot couldn't help but let out a weary sigh.

"I want to go home…"

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(A/N: I know, I know… I copped out by skipping the space battle. But let me explain. I can't write space battles too well – or even aerial battles, for that matter. Mostly because I don't find them that interesting in prose unless they're done incredibly well. I can't visualise them in my head (in any interesting way), and that's where I do most of my fight arrangements. So, instead of boring both myself and you, I thought it best to skip it.

For those who might think that Red Star and Starfire's section was quite short, don't worry; they'll both be getting plenty of attention in the following chapters. Maybe not _next _chapter, but a large chunk of this story will be about Starfire, so fear not.

And yes, that's a Kole/Jericho pairing. An official comic pairing, _and_ I see it working with their show counterparts too.

Since I haven't read them, I'm not sure what Argent's crush on Nightwing was like in the comics, so I had to put my own spin on it. And since we haven't seen a girl confidently going after Robin in the show (besides Kitten, of course), I thought it'd be interesting to see his reaction to those kind of advances. That'll get stronger in later chapters, too.

And, reviews? Them good.)


	3. Fun with a Capital 'F'

Disclaimer: I don't own _Teen Titans._

_**A Strange Business**_

_**Chapter Three: Fun with a Capital 'F'**_

The sun was beginning to set over Jump City. The vehicles on the bridge continued to scurry along to whatever destination awaited them, the sight of a building shaped like a giant T scarcely registering on their drivers' minds. Kole smiled as she looked out over the sun kissed city. There was nothing like this in the arctic. Sure, there were the Northern Lights, but there was something so… alive about the city. The strum of a guitar brought her attention over to the mute blonde sat next to her.

"Your shift with the kids over, huh?"

With an exhausted yawn accompanying his nod, Kole guessed that it wasn't the most relaxing time of his life. He strummed the guitar once again, adjusting the tightness of the strings until he had the desired sounds. A hopeful look over to her made Kole sigh. She _knew_ that he wouldn't forget her promise.

"Okay, okay… what do I do?"

He plucked a string, generating a high pitched noise that made her ears twitch slightly. He gestured over to her, and then pointed at his mouth. It was the same signal she had given to her the day previous when he had wanted her to sing. Clearing her throat nervously, she smiled slightly.

She sang the note as best she could, closing her eyes so she could avoid Jericho's penetrating gaze. Slowly finishing the note, she turned to look at the mute blonde, wondering what he had thought.

The grin on his face gave her 'the warm fuzzies', as Kid Flash had called it when referring the Jinx. Not in the presence of the pink haired witch, of course, but still, that was what Kole was feeling right now. Jericho raised a finger to get her attention, and then gestured to his stomach. Slowly bringing his hand up, it rose until it reached his throat, where his fingers spread out and he brought his hand forward.

"So… I should sing from my stomach?"

He tilted his head from left to right in a 'more or less' gesture. After plucking the same string yet again, he gestured for her to sing, once again pointing to his stomach to reinforce his earlier lesson. She nodded, her pink hair bobbing slightly in the wind.

She took a deep breath and sang the note. As she finished the note and looked over at him, she was surprised to see a different look on his face. Rather than the pleased grin that had adorned his face before, his face was covered with a shocked expression, as though he were amazed.

Kole frowned, and so did Jericho in response. Slowly realising that he must have offended her, he reached down and grabbed her hands with his, smiling gently at her. Kole smiled back, feeling her face go slightly red. His message was clear.

"WOULD YOU PLEASE JUST STAND STILL!"

That wasn't it.

The two looked over to the door leading to the rooftop in time to see Timmy make his way through, screaming as he went. An exasperated Cyborg followed, delicately holding Teether in his arms.

"Yo! Timmy! Where the-"

Horror crossed the half robot's face as he saw the infant hero heading for the edge of the roof. A shocked noise escaped his lips and, throwing Teether onto his shoulder, ran as fast as he could towards the red headed boy.

Teether, meanwhile, decided that Cyborg's shoulder looked particularly tasty, and took a large bite. Letting out a sharp yelp, Cyborg tripped and fell at the sudden distraction. He looked up to see Timmy, his eyes closed in a tantrum, still heading for the edge of the roof. Just as he reached it and toppled over, Jericho leapt forward on his front, grabbing Timmy by the feet. The boy managed to drag Jericho down with him. Kole charged forward and grabbed onto Jericho's feet, pulling him up with all of her strength, which wasn't much.

Meanwhile, Jericho grabbing Timmy's legs unfortunately caused him to swing him down and bang his head on the side of the roof, his crying quickly intensifying into a deafening scream. Kole looked over her shoulder at Cyborg, who was trying to rip Teether from his shoulder.

"Could I get some help here?" she groaned, starting to panic as she slowly lost her footing.

"I'm trying; this kid has a grip like Beast Boy begging for tofu!" He stopped and smiled, looking away wistfully. "That was a good one…"

Kole scowled. "JUST GET OVER HERE NOW!" she yelled loudly, causing everyone to stop what they were doing and look over in shock. Even Timmy stopped his wailing. Cyborg leapt to his feet.

"Yes ma'am," he said quickly, getting up and walking over with Teether still on his shoulder, though the baby was now staring at Kole in amazement. Grabbing Jericho's legs with on hand, Cyborg effortlessly lifted both Teether and Jericho upwards. He gently put the two down and picked up Teether, backing away in silence until he reached the door, which he closed in front of him. The three were plunged into the darkness of the stairway, looking at the closed door in silence.

"Angry lady," Teether gurgled.

Cyborg nodded numbly.

"Gah-NARRK!"

He sighed. Gnarrk must have been scared by Bobby again.

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Red Star eyes slowly opened, his eyelids feeling dry from the sleep dust gathered beneath them. Wiping it away with his gloves, he looked over to Starfire, who was awake. They had decided to take shifts, although he was beginning to feel like it was a stupid idea. What was the point when they were gradually sinking into the atmosphere of some alien planet? What could possibly go wrong that would require one of them to be awake?

He shook his head and picked up his headset, sliding it on.

"Starfire, I am awake. You may rest now."

They was a brief silence on her end, the only noise between them the faint crackling of static over the line. The Russian once again looked over at her pod, but could only see her silhouette against the reddish orange planet beneath them.

"Starfire?"

He heard a heavy sigh from her end. _"I do not wish to sleep."_

"Perhaps not, but you need to keep your strength up."

"_I do not-!" _she sighed again, and took a breath. _"I do not need to keep my strength up. I need to be awake so we can find a way out of this."_

Red Star nodded slowly, his green eyes softening with understanding and sympathy. "I know how you feel. Perhaps we should simply leave the pods behind and take our chances."

Starfire shook her head. _"No. That would be a bad idea. If the Gordanians returned-"_

"_If _they did, they would not kill us. The fact that they disabled the ship indicates that they wanted us alive, not destroyed. And I think that we would be able to hold our own against them, but _not _if you are weak from lack of rest."

Although she remained silent, Red Star could practically see the small smile spreading across her face.

"_You are right. Allow me to rest, and then we will try and leave."_

He brought up the side of his face in a half smile. "Perhaps we will find Robin and the others, too."

"_Perhaps," _Starfire replied, her voice becoming more contented as she spoke. _"Thank you, Leonid."_

"You are welcome, Starfire."

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Cyborg had no idea he could feel this tired. Sure, he had been pretty exhausted before, but he had always managed to get up and walk to the recharge station in his room. As it was, all he could manage was the energy to blink. And even that was pushing it. With a weary expression, he cast his gaze across the living room. The kitchen was all but destroyed. The TV and the Gamestation didn't even _resemble _their former selves. Cyborg somehow gathered the energy for a small smile.

Beast Boy would not be happy when he returned.

But now, they were all asleep, the random destruction and general noise they created having drained their energy supplies. Gnarrk lay upside down on the couch, snoring loudly. As Cyborg continued to look around the room, he noticed that Bobby was sat against a wall, even though Melvin was asleep. What was even more puzzling was the fact that the large imaginary bear was awake. Cyborg had no idea how that was possible, but at the moment he was willing to let the laws of physics go.

"Say, Bobby?"

The bear looked over at him with curious eyes.

"Do you talk at all? Make any kind of noise whatsoever?"

The bear shook its head. A tired grin spread across Cyborg's face.

"That's… beautiful…" he said, enjoying the fact that he could have some semblance of silence, at least for a short while. It was inevitable that Timmy would wake up from a bad dream, or that Teether would do a 'poopy poops' as he called it, but he wanted to live in denial for a short while longer.

The only one who didn't bother him was Melvin. Raven had told him that she was the most wilful of the group, but Cyborg found that hard to believe. Maybe it was just because Raven was in an awful mood at having been stuck with the kids in the first place. It probably didn't help that as soon as she got back, Beast Boy slid a pie onto a rock she was about to sit down on. While it _was _funny, Cyborg had known better than to laugh. But not Beast Boy, oh no. His response was:

"Ha ha! Wet butt!"

Cyborg chuckled lightly at how Beast Boy had limped for about a week after that incident, grumbling about pies the entire time.

Suddenly, the alarm went off, and Cyborg was grateful for his foresight in making it a _silent _alarm for the moment. His robotic eye informed him that Plasmus was tearing up downtown Jump. He silently crept over to Gnarrk, looking at Bobby and putting a finger to his lips.

"Gnarrk… wake up…" he whispered as he approached, hoping that the caveman was having pleasant dreams.

He wasn't. Cyborg tapped him on the shoulder, and nearly fell over when the caveman leapt to his feet.

"GNARRK!"

The half robot put a panicking finger to his lips.

"Ssssh! We just managed to get 'em to sleep!"

The long haired caveman ducked his head and looked around the room, remembering all too well the carnage the kids could create. Cyborg pointed to the door and tip toed out. Gnarrk went through the doors first. Cyborg stopped at the doorway and looked over to Bobby.

"Hey, Bobby. Look after them while we're gone, all right?"

The bear grinned and gave him a thumbs up. Or at least, a claws up. Cyborg wasn't sure what to call it. Simply smiling and nodding, he made his way out.

It didn't take long to gather Jericho and Kole; they were still on the roof. Both Cyborg and Gnarrk were pretty surprised with how well she was singing. For someone who didn't seem to think she was very good, she was… well… very good.

Cyborg told her this, but she just blushed, furtively glancing over at Jericho. Noticing the heat between the two, the enforced romance sector of Cyborg's brain activated (a place usually reserved for Robin and Starfire), a big cheesy grin spreading across his face.

He began to scheme. He only wished he had a thin moustache to twirl.

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Gnarrk screeched in horror as the T car screeched in protest of being turned so sharply. Kole laid a supportive hand on Gnarrk's shoulder.

"It's okay, Gnarrk."

Jericho looked at how kindly she reassured her friend and couldn't help the fond smile spreading across his face. He noticed Cyborg looking at him in the mirror and turned away quickly, his face heating up.

Cyborg just smiled.

_Oh yeah. He's **definitely** interested._

As he turned another corner, he saw the familiar sight of Plasmus in the middle of the street, who was guzzling gasoline from various parked cars. One BMW owner was even on his knees crying. Tutting as he got out of the car, Cyborg mentally ran through the different quips and one liners he could use.

"_Hey, Plasmus! You-" nah, that wouldn't work._

"_Yo! Plasmus! What'choo doin', foo?" Yeah, right, Victor. Who are you, Mr T?_

"_Park it, Plasmus!" Oy, that's too BB._

"_All right! Let's get this party started!"_

Cyborg sighed. He fired a warning shot in front of Plasmus, who was holding a car above his head.

"Put down the car, slimy!"

_Slimy! The best you could come up with is slimy! Victor, Victor, Victor… Robin could have done better than that. Shame on you._

Plasmus growled threateningly and dropped the car, now giving the four heroes his full attention. Cyborg gritted his teeth. "Titans, go!"

He fired a shot from his sonic cannon at the dripping villain, but the blast went straight through the purple slime that made up his body. Roaring in outrage, he flung a ball of goop right over Cyborg. Though it didn't hurt him, it drenched him from head to foot in purple goo.

"Ah, man… now I've goo in my gears."

Gnarrk, holding the crystallised Kole over his head, leapt towards Plasmus and swung down at the multi eyed monster. He fell straight through, landing on his feet on the other side with a grunt. Much to his surprise, he realised that he was no longer holding Kole. He turned in time to see a crystalline arm being sucked into the purple belly of Plasmus.

"Gnarrk!" he growled, leaping forward at the goo monster. Plasmus swatted out with a dripping tentacle, sending Gnarrk flying down the street and onto the top of a parked car.

Cyborg, having recovered from what Beast Boy called 'goo shock', turned to Jericho, pointing at Plasmus.

"Jericho! Get Kole!"

The blonde mute nodded and ran towards the monster, leaping straight into him and out the other side, carrying an unconscious and de-crystallised Kole in his arms. Plasmus, outraged at being jumped through so nonchalantly, turned towards the two Titans.

Cyborg put away his sonic cannon and mentally activated the electricity gauntlets he had installed just a few short days ago.

"No time like the present…" he murmured to himself, his hands crackling with thousands of volts of electricity.

"Yo! Plasmus!" The purple monster looked over its 'shoulder' at Cyborg, making a curious growling noise as he did so.

"Eat _this!" _Cyborg yelled, leaping forward and plunging both hands into Plasmus. The slimy creature howled and shrieked in pain, and Cyborg smiled, thinking his victory assured. Then something ticked over in his brain.

_Wait… he's been drinking gasoline… electric gauntlets… SPARKS!_

Plasmus suddenly stopped howling and looked at Cyborg in shock. The half robot had a similarly horrified look on his face.

"Oh dang."

Plasmus popped with a deafening explosion, covering everyone in the street with purple goo. Cyborg was propelled back by the blast, landing painfully on his back and leaving sparks as he skidded down the road.

Gnarrk and Jericho made their way over to their slime soaked leader, who merely chose to lie on his back and stare up at the sky.

His vision was suddenly blocked by Gnarrk's face. "Gnarrk?"

Cyborg blinked a few times, still staring blankly ahead, watching a particularly lumpy cloud slowly float by. Suddenly, an alarm went off on his arm, quickly replaced by the wail of Teether. It was the baby monitor he had built into his systems. He let out a sigh.

"Jericho. You can write pretty good, right?"

The blonde mute gave pause at the question, attempting to find some way to make hand signals while he was carrying Kole in his arms. Sighing, he settled for a nod. Cyborg, seeing this out of the corner of his eye, responded in kind.

"Good. When we get back to the Tower, take a note."

He was quiet for a moment so he was sure that piece of information had sunk in. Taking a breath, he finished his sentence.

"Kill Raven."

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The sun glared through her closed eyelid, and she squinted uncomfortably. Attempting to shield herself from the orange light that penetrated the cool darkness of her closed eyes, she squirmed in her chair, coming face to face with the headrest.

Then it all came rushing back to her. Why they were there. How they got here. What their current situation was. She sighed. She wished she hadn't woken up. She couldn't even stretch her arms out as she yawned, something she revelled in doing at home. Her eyes glazed over at the thought of home.

She didn't know whether she should be thinking of the Earth or Tamaran. She absentmindedly scratched her head as she pondered the matter, looking over at Red Star's pod as she did so. The sun was reflecting off the glass of his pod, making it impossible for her to see the hulking Russian. Slowly picking up her headset, she spoke cautiously into it, not wanting to startle him.

"Red Star?"

His reply was almost instantaneous. _"Are you ready?"_

She smiled to herself; somehow she knew that he would be itching to make some kind of move. For someone who had locked himself away in a blank, dull fortress, he certainly had a zest for adventure. It was most likely a direct result of that fact. After living for so many years in such a barren environment, she didn't blame him for wanting to enjoy everything to its fullest. She had felt the same way when she had been released from captivity by Robin.

…And the other Titans, of course.

She brought the headset to her mouth. "I am."

"_All right. How do you wish to accomplish this? Should I try to-?"_

"No!" Starfire exclaimed suddenly, picturing Red Star's startled flinch in the other pod. Calming herself with a deep breath, she continued. "We cannot make an explosion; we run the risk of being blown into the atmosphere of the planet, and even our strength would not be able to pull us away from it. We must do this… delicately."

Red Star blew a frustrated breath out through his nose, sending a loud windy noise through the buzzing static.

"_I am not good with… delicate."_

She thought back to his drawings. "I have _seen_ you being delicate. You can do this."

After a brief silence, Red Star responded. _"Very well. What do we do?"_

Starfire looked around the pod for some way to break free. She knew from Cyborg's exhausting presentation that the glass on the pod was nigh on indestructible.

_If I could get good enough leverage, then I would be able to lift it open…_

She sighed.

…_but the air pressure would make that impossible…_

Her eyes brightened.

_I do not need air! And neither does Red Star!_

"Red Star – push the depressurise button in your pod."

"…_why?"_

"If we could get enough leverage, we could open the pods ourselves. But with the air pressure, it would be nearly impossible to lift them."

"_But neither you or I need air to survive."_

Starfire nodded, happy at the ease at which he had caught on. She brought the mouth piece to her lips. "All right, ready? Three…two…one… now."

After pushing the button, Starfire began to hear a tremendous hissing sound as the oxygen was ripped from the pod. She wondered what she would feel now if she were human. Obviously, there was fear, but she was more interested in the physical effects. Would her ears pop? Her hair fall out? The image of herself bald made her want to giggle and recoil in horror at the same time.

"_Um… Starfire?"_

Snapping herself out of her daze, she spoke into the headset again. "Yes, Red Star?"

"_The air is gone. Perhaps we can…?"_

"Oh! Of course. My apologies."

Reaching out, she used her not inconsiderable Tamaranian strength to wedge her fingers beneath the glass and lifted, groaning with the effort she had to expend. She made a mental note to tell Cyborg to create some kind of hatch opening device that didn't require power. She pulled even harder, and the pod began to lift. She smiled at her victory, and continued to pull.

Two black gloved hands appeared next to her own, pulling the pod up from the other side. She smiled as she saw the determined face of Red Star above her, pulling the pod up with all his strength. Once there was enough room, Starfire lifted herself from the pod and stood next to Red Star on the surface of the two interlinked pods. He smiled.

"Perhaps we should tell Cyborg to make these pods… less indestructible."

Starfire grinned. "Agreed." Gesturing into deep space, she looked over at the Russian giant stood next to her. "Shall we?"

"After you," he said, extending his arm out with a polite smile. Using the pod's surface as a kicking off point, they were thrust into the blackness of space.

Starfire looked behind her and saw the pods continue on their orbit of the planet. She wondered how long it would take for them to gradually make their way into the atmosphere and burn up.

"Starfire!" Red Star blurted, pointing ahead of them. Starfire twisted her head back around in time to see two large Gordanian ships approaching, their weapons charging. She looked back to Red Star.

"I will take the left, you the right!"

Nodding and moving away with an efficiency only a soldier could manage, Red Star shot himself towards the ship on the right.

Starfire brought her attention to the ship approaching her. It fired the same electric beam it had fired at the T-ship earlier, crackling and spitting as it spiralled towards the Tamaranian.

However, Starfire was not as cumbersome an object as the T-ship, and easily managed to evade the beam, shooting towards the ship and latching onto a wing. She began ripping at the armour surrounding the wing, then used her eye beams to steadily cut the wing clean off.

A hatch to her right swung open, and two Gordanians in space faring equipment stepped out, brandishing miniature staff like versions of the electricity weapon the ship was armed with. On the end of the staff was an electrical prong, sparks of energy coming from it even in the blackness and cold of space.

She left her cutting for the moment and stood, getting herself in a battle ready stance. The first Gordanian lunged at her with the staff. Starfire dodged to her left and grabbed the base of the staff with both hands, throwing the Gordanian over her shoulder and into empty space behind her. She turned to face the other Gordanian, beckoning him forth as she had seen Neo do in 'The Matrix', one of Beast Boy's favourite movies.

She would have to thank the green changeling when she got home.

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Red Star continued to swerve desperately out of the way of the Gordanian ships lasers, finding himself nowhere near as used to this kind of combat as Starfire was. He suddenly stopped his frantic manoeuvres and turned to face the ship.

_Very well. If I cannot dodge, I will deflect._

The ship fired another laser beam at him. Concentrating on controlling his power, he assumed his red glowing form once again, absorbing the energy as it made contact with his body. Unable to hold the energy for long, he redirected it through his body and back at the ship.

The ship moved away before the laser could do any harm, quickly turning and firing again, but this time, firing continuously. Red Star attempted to absorb and redirect the blasts as best he could, but there was simply too much too fast. He gradually began to falter, his concentration failing.

His red form faded away, and the exhausted Red Star was hit by yet another laser blast, making him yell out in pain as he felt his skin burn under the ministrations of the weapon. The ship flew clear over him and turned around, coming in for another pass. Red Star prepared himself for the pain that would follow.

But it never came.

He looked up to see a large, silver, sleek ship attacking the comparatively small Gordanian ship, which was destroyed almost instantly by the powerful weapons of its attacker. Red Star wondered whether his new ship was friend or foe, when he suddenly found himself surrounded by a bright blue light.

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The second Gordanian was more cautious. He circled Starfire slowly, waiting for the right moment to strike. Starfire felt the adrenaline running through her veins, and the excitement that grew within her as a result of her Tamaranian physiology. A small warrior's smile appeared on her face.

This seemed to unnerve the Gordanian somewhat, who took that opportunity to strike, bringing the staff down on Starfire's head as though to cut her in half. Bringing her own stolen staff up crossways, she caught the Gordanian's staff mid strike. She pushed her self up and brought her right knee up to collide with his jaw, causing him to stumble back.

Using the staff just as she had seen Robin do many times, she slammed the electric prong on the end of the staff down onto the top of his head, then the other end to his stomach, finally finishing with a twirl of the staff above her head and a vicious uppercut with the electric end.

The Gordanian was hurled back by the blow and into outer space to join his friend. Satisfied, Starfire tossed the staff away and walked over to the hatch, sealing it shut with her eye beams. She made her way over to the wing and resumed her cutting. She began to hear banging coming from the hatch, but chose to ignore it. By the time they had managed to get through, she and the wing of their ship would be long gone.

_Only a few more glorfniks to go…_

She heard an explosion behind her as the hatch blew, and three more Gordanians emerged. Starfire stood and turned to face them. With an evil smile reminiscent of Raven, she waved at the reptilian aliens before firing a starbolt behind her back at the tiny piece of metal holding the wing together. Hopping on board the severed wing, she waved goodbye as the ship began careening out of control.

She turned to see how Red Star was doing, and was greeted by a shocking yet slightly familiar sight. As she attempted to place the large battle cruiser that was now floating overhead, a large laser blast emerged from its underside, annihilating the Gordanian ship instantly. Starfire turned to look at the blast, but was engulfed in a bright blue light.

She closed her eyes to shield herself from the blinding light. As she opened them, she found that she was on a ship.

A ship she had been on before. Her expression darkened as she recognised her surroundings.

However, these thoughts were instantly forgotten as she looked over to see the injured Red Star laid next to her, a black and charred burn mark on his chest. He looked over at her, his eyes laden with pain. She gasped and attempted to see to his injuries. He sat up slowly, brushing her concerned hands away.

"I… am fine. I need only time to heal." He looked around his surroundings. "Where are we?"

"Someplace I do not wish us to be."

"Why? What is-?"

An all too familiar voice interrupted their conversation, loudly echoing off the walls.

"Well, well, well. I answer a distress call and find a couple of Troqies. What are the odds?"

Starfire looked up scornfully to see the intergalactic hero, Val-Yor.

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(A/N: Dunn dunn dunnnnnnnn! That's right, Val-Yor. Some of you may not like him, but I think he's a cool character to bounce people off of (verbally and physically), and I felt his story was left a little bit unresolved at the end of 'TROQ'. So, here he is.

For those of you wondering about the lack of Robin, Argent and Hot Spot, fear not! Next chapter is devoted entirely to them in a weird alien city. Hilarity ensues.

Now, let's see… anonymous reviews ahoy…

Jarkes: Being a Brit myself, I can safely say that Argent's (show) accent is closer to English than Australian. The stereotypical way that Australians are portrayed in modern culture would have meant her saying 'mate' at the end of every sentence. I'm just going to assume that she was English and that she was in New Zealand because… um…

I got nothin'.

Besides, her indifferent attitude is _so_ very English. Take it from me; every single English person is as bored and posh as she is.

(Sarcasm detector explodes)

Ah, damn. I'll have to get that fixed.

I guess I could have made her Italian like in the comics, but that's a bit _too _much of a stretch, considering her accent.

Dust-in: Yes, Jericho and Kole will be a pairing, but damn… Beast Boy and Raven as well? I'm already juggling thirteen Titans (or ten, if you count Melvin, Timmy, Teether and Bobby as one character), not to mention Val-Yor and the other characters that'll be appearing later on. So you can shove-

Ahem.

I respectfully decline.

Seriously though, thanks for the review. I just can't handle Beast Boy and Raven as well.

But…

(Shameless plug alert)

Are you interested in BB/Rae stories? Then read 'My Box of One Shots' by Super Chocolate Bear! Not only will you find BB/Rae fluff, you'll also find:

Rob/Star!

KF/Rae!

Cyborg/Sarah Simms!

And… OTHER STUFF!

(End of shameless plug)

Anyway, review.)


	4. Scum and Villainy

Disclaimer: I don't own _Teen Titans._

_**A Strange Business**_

_**Chapter Four: Scum and Villainy**_

Hot Spot had to admit that he had never seen a green sunset before. Of course, the sun itself wasn't green, but the sky changed to a strange shade of green as it set on the horizon. Well, as one sun set on one horizon and one on the other. It was a very strange experience to be sure, to look both ways and see a sunset on either side. Hot Spot was used to setting his day by the sun, not really seeing the point in having a watch on his person. Such an object would only be incinerated or melt as soon as he powered up.

It had taken him years as Isiah Crockett to research the properties required for creating clothing that could withstand his powers. He had lived in a comfortable middle class household his entire life, his father being a much respected Judge. Everything that Isiah knew about right and wrong came from his father. He went to school and studied hard, where he found he had a talent for Physics and Chemistry.

Isiah's powers emerged at the tender age of sixteen during his first day at Ivy University, and he was abducted by a government agency that the identity of which, to this day, remain unknown to Hot Spot. All he remembered was a rather stout black woman staring at him as he lay on an examination table. It was there that he learned he was the result of a government experiment to create an alien/human hybrid, using his mother as an unwitting host. All of their other experiments were a failure excepting two. However, Hot Spot never found out who the other experiment was, for he escaped shortly after and returned home. The government agency had tried time and time again to capture him, each time failing.

For so long as a teenager, he was always afraid to power up into his red and yellow glowing form, fearing that he would hurt those around him. As he learnt to control his fantastic abilities, he had also come to the conclusion that while he physically and mentally suffered no ill effect from his powers, his clothes did, no matter how hot or cool he thought he was burning.

Initially, he believed that he could control his powers to the extent that his clothes wouldn't burn away, but every test resulted in his thin clothing first smoking, and then finally falling away as ash. It was lucky for him he was in his red powered form, or the other people around him would have seen a very embarrassed and naked Isiah Crockett standing before them. As it was, he looked like the Human Torch from the 'Fantastic Four' comic books he had seen.

Hot Spot was incredibly proud of his career as a superhero. He was entirely self sufficient when it came to his superhero supplies. Reading up on the subject of heat resistant substances and using his extensive knowledge and understanding of chemistry and physics, he created a suit that was similar to those used by workers that operated in dangerously hot locations, like hot springs and volcanoes.

By reversing the process, Hot Spot created a suit that was heat resistant on the inside, but projected his heat on the outside, helping him to ward off any approaching attackers. True, it wasn't particularly comfortable at first (and he attributed his bad attitude directly to that discomfort), but he had gradually altered it until it felt as comfortably as an old shoe. Of course, in such strange and laborious conditions as the planet they were on at the moment, Hot Spot's mind tended to drift on to everything that was irritating him in the slightest. Case in point; the way his boot was squeaking as he stepped on it.

Looking over at his two companions, he realised that the small noise was obviously more annoying to him than to them. Robin was simply staring blankly ahead, his face carved into a stony demeanour that concentrated on their target and nothing else. Hot Spot guessed that it was probably that tenacity that got him the job as the Teen Titans leader in the first place.

A glance over at Argent told Hot Spot that she wasn't really bothered by the strange planet either. To be honest, Hot Spot doubted that the pale skinned Brit could see anything past the Boy Wonder's behind, at which she was furtively glancing at every time his cape blew up. An image of Marilyn Monroe standing above a windy grate leapt into his mind, and Hot Spot couldn't help but smile. The Moroccan hero wondered what Robin's reaction would be if he knew about Argent's attentions.

_He'd probably blush the same red as his tunic._

Once more looking at the two, Hot Spot began to wonder what women would see in Robin. He could understand that he was good looking and athletic. Hot Spot allowed a small smile. Hell… that was probably enough for most women. But you get past those surface things, and you've got a neurotic and controlling sonovabitch, not to mention a guy that doesn't smile.

Ever.

The only time Robin smiled was when he was about to kick your ass. Or had _just _kicked your ass. And he doubted women would find him attractive after doing _that_ to them.

The Moroccan hero shrugged, pushing the thought from his mind. He turned to the pair and considered who he should talk to.

_1: Robin._

_Pros: _

_He'll listen and respond to what you say, quickly and to the point._

_Cons:_

_He'll listen and respond to what you say, quickly and to the point._

_2: Argent._

_Pros:_

_She's closer to normal than Robin, and could probably engage you in human conversation._

_Cons:_

_She's enamoured to Robin's behind, and therefore **not **going to listen to a word you say._

Hot Spot sighed.

"Hey, Robin?"

Continuing to walk forward, Robin only slightly tilted his head to see him out of the corner of his eye. At least, Hot Spot _assumed _it was the corner of his eye. It was hard to tell with those white lenses.

"Yeah?"

"Do you do this a lot? I mean, alien planets and space?"

The Boy Wonder was silent for a moment. "Not really," he said, his voice sounding vaguely troubled.

"So… you don't know any alien languages or secret handshakes or anything like that?"

A small noise came from Robin, and Hot Spot could have sworn that it was a chuckle. Shaking his head, Hot Spot quickly dismissed the thought.

_C'mon. Robin laughing? Maybe's there's something in the atmosphere to make you think so crazy._

Said Titan leader's voice interrupted his thoughts. "Uh… no, sorry."

Hot Spot nodded. "Right."

Looking out at the horizon, Hot Spot squinted as though that would help him see their destination in more detail.

"So how long do you think until we get there?"

Robin's cheeks puffed out as he blew out a long, heavy breath, mentally calculating the distance. "I guess… if the terrain stays like this, and we keep a steady pace… a few hours."

His eyes half closing in exaggerated tiredness, Hot Spot's shoulder's sagged. "Right…" he sighed, and Robin once again let out a noise that sounded something like a chuckle. Hot Spot looked over at Robin and shook his head.

_Definitely something in the atmosphere._

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Robin tried to lie back on the rocky ground, and was only rewarded with pain as his back was once again skewered by a stray outcropping. With a frustrated growl he quickly sat back up, giving the ground his best approximation of the 'Bat-Glare'. He angrily brushed away all the debris from the ground where he was going to lie, then slowly attempted to lean back once again.

His teeth ground together as his plan for comfort was spoiled once again. If he didn't know better, he could have sworn that the ground was _sending_ uncomfortable rocks his way. Casting a glance around their makeshift 'camp', he saw that Hot Spot and Argent were having no such trouble getting comfortable.

_Maybe it's just me._

As he looked around the barren landscape and up into the sky, he wondered where Starfire was, and more importantly, if she was all right. Something told him that she was okay. Something _always _told him if she was all right. He liked to think that there was some kind of connection between them, even if there was no reason to think so. Every time they had lost contact with one another and she had been hurt, Robin had known. He hadn't known detail for detail what had happened to her, but in the intervening time, he just… _knew _in his gut that she was okay.

He hoped that she knew he was okay. Looking up at the sky, a part of him wished that he could see the stars, rather than those strange alien clouds. The stars always reminded him of Starfire, and in her absence, they always served to comfort him. He fondly remembered a time when he was training with the True Master, and, after a hard days training, he was sent to sleep outside. As he lay on his back and looked up at the stars, he could have sworn he saw Starfire on the roof of Titans Tower, staring up at the stars just as he was.

After another look around the 'camp', he turned towards the city that taunted him in the distance, only just visible over the horizon. From his extensive training with Batman, he thought that he had become pretty good at judging distances and estimating times. But the nature of this planet seemed to change perceptions, at least for humans. Needless to say, the city was further away than he had initially thought.

Fortunately, there were enough emergency rations in their three pods to last them for days. Initially, Robin had been worried about freezing to death during the night, but then realised that Hot Spot could keep them warm simply by sitting there in his powered form. And if, in some weird alien planet twist, the nights became too hot, he had more than enough freeze disks to cool everyone down.

He felt someone sit down next to him, and expected Hot Spot. The Moroccan hero seemed the most disturbed by being on an alien planet. If Robin was honest with himself, it scared him too. The only time he had been on alien planets, it was either with the other Titans, giving him a familiar safety net to fall back on, or Starfire would help them understand the strange cultures around them. The thought of the radiant Tamaranian brought a sigh from the Boy Wonder's lips.

"You okay?"

Robin cocked an eyebrow. _That _was most definitely not Hot Spot's voice. A small smile crossed Robin's face.

_Unless he's had a sex change while I wasn't looking._

The Boy Wonder looked over to see Argent sat next to him, her legs and arms crossed. Noting her arms, he realised that she was trying to keep warm. Another glance over his shoulder, and Robin saw that Hot Spot had nodded off, and with his consciousness, his powered form had disappeared as well.

"Cold?" Robin asked, and Argent nodded, a small smile on her lips.

"It's okay. Compared to winter in England, this is nothing."

"Yeah, I know," Robin said, chuckling. Argent shot him a confused look, which just made Robin smile more.

"_You've _been to England?"

"Yeah, my b-" Robin stopped himself before he said 'butler'. The last thing he needed to try and explain away was Alfred Pennyworth, the butler at Wayne Manor. "-Uh… that is, my _buddy_ is English."

"What's his name?"

Robin considered this for a moment, and then smiled. "Al."

"Al? Doesn't sound too English to me."

"It's short for Alfred."

"Ah…" she said, smiling as she looked back at the city. "Well, that's different."

A gust of wind passed over them, and Argent rubbed her arms all the more. Seeing this, Robin briefly considered taking off his cape and draping it over her shoulders. The thermal stitching of the black and yellow cape would certainly keep put any cold she was feeling. He dismissed the thought; she didn't seem the type to take help like that. Something occurred to him, and he pulled out a flare from his utility belt. Slamming the cap on the floor, the flare burst to life, bathing the pair in red, warming light.

He handed the flare over. "Here. It should keep you warm until the sun comes up or-" Robin looked over his shoulder at the slumbering Hot Spot, "-_he _wakes up."

Argent paused for a moment, giving the flare an odd look before taking it, a grateful smile on her face. "Thanks."

The two shared a brief silence, simply staring out at the city before them, watching the ships coming and going, looking only like tiny specs of light as the whizzed back and forth to the city. Robin looked over at Argent.

"So… how did you get your powers?" he asked, trying to keep his voice neutral. He had been attempting to find out from all of the new recruits a little bit about their past, but sometimes he came across as prying a little bit _too _much. He occasionally forgot that for some people, their powers were a horrible thing, or how they got them, at least.

Some were more forthcoming. Kid Flash, for instance, had gathered the Titans around him on the couch and enthralled them with the story of his origin and his adventures as a travelling superhero. Others, like Thunder and Lightning, were not so forthcoming about their origins. He knew that Red Star had told no-one else of his past, hoping to leave past events as just that; the past.

Argent sighed, and Robin winced, thinking he had once again stepped over the line. He silently berated the Batman side of him.

_I blame **you**, Bruce._

"I was wondering how long it would take you lot to ask," she said, her face now a pale pinkish hue from the light of the flare. Her deep crimson eyes were instinctively drawn to the light, and she seemed almost hypnotised by the dancing sparks. After another sigh, she continued.

"I was actually pretty normal until my sixteenth birthday. I mean, I wasn't boring, but I had friends, I went to school, you know," she looked over at him, an ironic look in her eyes, "the normal, usual stuff."

Robin offered a sympathetic smile, but in all honesty, he had no idea what she meant. He had never led a normal life, at least as others would judge normal. First, he was a travelling acrobat, a member of the 'Flying Graysons' act, and then he was constantly and brutally trained by Batman, before moving on to the Titans. His life had been anything _but_ 'the normal, usual stuff.' Argent continued, and Robin dismissed his self pitying thoughts.

"Then, I turned sixteen, and I could do _this_," she said, lifting her hand, now glowing with red energy. Several red lines appeared in the air, eventually spelling out the word 'this'. Robin smiled at the joke before nodding for Argent to continue.

"Then these government people… you know, sunglasses, black suits, the whole bloody nine yards… they came to the school and took me away. Shoved me in a van and took me to some facility somewhere, where I was poked and prodded in every way you care to imagine."

She shivered slightly, and Robin doubted that it was from the cold.

"And some I don't care to remember…" She scrunched up her eyes and covered them with her hand. "Oh… bloody hell…" she muttered quietly, fighting back the tears.

Panicking, Robin went with his first instinct; to babble incoherently. "Oh, I… uh… I'm sorry, I didn't mean to… uh…"

Argent smiled and let out a small laugh. "No, no… it's not your fault… it helps for me to talk about it, I suppose…"

She sniffed once loudly and wiped away some of the water that had gathered at the bottom of her eyes.

"Anyway… I found out I was 'the result of an experiment'," she said, taking on a mock American accent as she spoke.

"What was the… experiment meant to do?"

Argent took in a deep breath. "You ever watched the X-Files? And all that alien conspiracy stuff? You just think it's a load of bollocks, don't you? The government finding alien crash sites and capturing the aliens… you just don't let yourself believe it."

She smiled. "Well… here's living proof," she said, gesturing to herself.

Robin cocked an eyebrow. "You're an alien, then?"

"Not quite. The government was trying to… crossbreed a human and an alien, and _my _mum was one of their lucky unwitting test subjects."

The detective instincts in the Boy Wonder processed what she said. "Wait… _one _of the test subjects? There were others?"

She nodded silently. "There were others, but they never survived child birth. They brought in this other poor bugger… he was the only one besides me to survive to sixteen. And, lucky prat, he escaped. But he helped me to escape by wrecking the power systems. They had me practising my powers for so long in that bloody place, they never stood a chance when I made a break for it."

"Did you ever find out who the other one was?"

"No. I wish I did. I'd give anything just to be able to thank him."

Robin smiled. "I'm sure you'll find him. Who knows, maybe he's a Titan."

Argent laughed. "With my luck, he probably went loony and became a villain."

"Maybe," he laughed. His smile gradually faded. "Did the government ever come after you?"

Argent shook her head. "No. I suppose they were more interested in the other fella, whoever he was. Or maybe they will come after me, but just haven't yet. I don't know," she said, sighing as she shrugged. "I try not to think about it. Don't want to spend my whole life looking over my shoulder, you know?"

"No, but… I understand," Robin replied quietly, putting a supportive hand on her shoulder.

She looked over at him, a grateful look on her pale features. Then something else crossed over her face, and her eyes glazed over slightly. Suddenly yet slowly, she leant forward, her eyes closed and her lips pursed in preparation for a kiss. In an utter state of panic, Robin leant back, his eyes wide beneath his mask. They froze in that position, with Argent leant towards him, almost on top of him, and Robin leaning back in a pose that would be impossible to anyone who _wasn't _a trained gymnast. Argent opened her eyes in surprise, and the two proceeded to stare at each other directly in the eyes, neither moving.

A loud yawn from behind them broke their frozen forms. Argent sat back in her previous position while Robin leapt to his feet, both of them blushing furiously.

"What's going on?" Hot Spot yawned as he stretched, his closed eyes blissfully ignorant of what they had missed. As he opened his bleary eyes, he observed that Argent was facing slightly away from Robin, while the Boy Wonder had both hands on his hips, staring towards the city intently.

"What happened…?" he sighed wearily, shaking his head.

"Nothing! Absolutely no-thing!" Robin said loudly, making a show of walking around Hot Spot and away from Argent.

"I'm gonna get some sleep!" The Boy Wonder continued loudly, before robotically and quickly lying down on the ground.

Hot Spot sighed, putting a hand to his head.

_Oh yeah. Most **definitely** something in the atmosphere._

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After what seemed the longest eternity, they had finally reached the city. It was a strange mishmash of the many science fiction shows that Hot Spot had seen. Not quite Mos Eisley, yet not quite Coruscant. Okay, Hot Spot had only really seen Star Wars. But still, he was in awe of the city, wondering just how something like this could actually be built. The buildings towered above them even higher than the Titans Tower, though somehow they were thin enough that Hot Spot wondered how they didn't blow down.

He turned to Robin and Argent, and was heartened to find that they were as dumbstruck as he was. While he still didn't know what had happened between them while he was asleep, he was glad that it was seemingly forgotten. He looked at Robin questioningly.

"So? Where to?"

The Boy Wonder looked around the city, eyeing the locals as he did so. They seemed to be ignoring them, but _seeming _and _doing _were very different things. He took a deep breath as his eyes settled on one building in particular. With a smile on his face, he pointed in the direction of a glowing sign above what looked to Hot Spot like…

"A bar?" he asked, looking over at the Boy Wonder.

Robin just smiled and shrugged. "Where else?"

Argent nodded. "Haven't you ever seen Star Wars?"

Robin walked away and towards the bar, followed by Argent.

"But… but…"

Hot Spot sighed and shook his head, looking down at the ground. "As long as we don't drink anything… the air's driving you two crazy as it is…" he grumbled, slowly following them.

As he made his way into the bar, Hot Spot almost instantly retched.

_Well… **that** stinks._

Robin and Argent didn't seem to be having the same problem, and Hot Spot just scowled at them.

"Fancy pants Titans with no sense of smell…" he mumbled, being wary to keep his eyes ahead. Even though he had never been on an alien planet before, even _he _knew that you don't look burly aliens in the eyes.

He bumped shoulders with one of said burly aliens, and smiled apologetically, almost powering up out of reflex.

"Sorry…" he said, putting up his hands defensively and backing away from him. At least, Hot Spot _assumed _it was a he. He turned around and almost bumped into yet another large and furry alien, although he managed to deftly avoid this one.

As he made his way past, he saw Robin talking to the bartender. Although he only came in on the tail end of the conversation, he got the gist of what was going on. Argent gave him a brief nod and a friendly smile as he approached.

"…want transport, you'll need to pay for it. I know plenty of people who would pay good money for your…" he paused, a grin crossing his blue and scaly features, "…services."

Scowling, the Boy Wonder stepped slightly in front of Argent. "She's not going anywhere."

"Not her," the bartender replied irritably. He nodded at Robin, his eyes widening lustfully. "You."

Hot Spot almost burst out laughing, and turned around to hold it in. As he did so, he noticed someone, or something, leaving the bar in an awful hurry while shooting furtive glances over his shoulder. From a distance, it looked like some kind of huge rat, although it was standing on its hind legs, its head horribly disproportionate with its body. Although he had no logical reason to suspect the alien… thing, whatever it was, Hot Spot just knew in his gut that he should stop him from getting away.

"Hey, you! Stop!"

The Rat Thing froze in its tracks, and then ran as fast as it could out of the bar. Letting out a frustrated grunt, Hot Spot powered up, knocking several patrons across the bar. He turned to Robin while he left the bar.

"Robin!"

The Boy Wonder turned from his nervous negotiations and was more than happy to have an excuse to leave. Argent smiled and shrugged at the disappointed bartender and flew off in pursuit.

Hot Spot pushed himself into a dead sprint down the 'street' after the Rat.

"Stop!" he yelled, though he doubted it would work a second time. Not wanting to incinerate it, he used a burst of flame from his hands to launch himself forward and towards the Rat.

Unfortunately, the Rat seemed to have caught wind of this, and, while dodging to its left, pulled out some kind of laser pistol from upon its person and fired. Hot Spot was sent across the 'street' and through the wall of a building opposite. The Rat turned into an alleyway on its left.

With a frustrated grunt, Hot Spot pushed himself up from the rubble. He spotted Robin running down the street and pointed to the alleyway the Rat had run down.

"He went that way!"

Robin nodded and quickly changed course, darting into the alleyway in hot pursuit. Hot Spot groaned as he pulled himself to his feet.

The Rat, meanwhile, was giving Robin just as much trouble. Blindly firing its laser pistol behind him, The Boy Wonder was dodging left and right so much he couldn't get any headway. His eyes thinning behind his mask, Robin pulled out his bo-staff and extended it to full length. Digging one end into the ground, he used it as a vaulting pole, tossing him into the air and into the path of the Rat.

Using trained precision, Robin landed deftly in front of the Rat, who skidded to a panicky halt, levelling its weapon at him. With a small smile and a quick twirl of Robin's staff, the Rat's laser pistol was sent flying away. Robin lifted his staff and brought it down, only for the Rat to move to its right, pushing out with its arms and roughly shoving Robin away. Much to his pained surprise, Robin was sent into the wall behind him, the force of the impact knocking the wind from him.

_Okay, so… alien rats are stronger than humans. Remember that._

The aforementioned Rat had begun running down the alleyway to the opposite end. Its eyes widened as its path was blocked by the floating Argent. Holding out her hands, she easily pinned the alien to the wall with red energy.

Robin pushed himself to his feet in time to be joined by Hot Spot, who smiled.

"Having trouble, Robin?"

Robin attempted to level out his breathing. "At least he didn't knock _me_ through a wall," he said, a smile on his face.

Hot Spot chose to ignore that comment and walked over to where Argent had pinned the Rat against the wall of the alleyway. He was immediately taken aback by just how _ugly _the thing was. Its left eye seemed to have two smaller eyes above it. Robin walked between the two, looking dead into the Rat's eyes.

"Who are you?"

"I ain't sayin' nothin'," it said, and Hot Spot grimaced. The Rats' big eye opened and closed as he spoke instead of its mouth. From the sound of it, it was most definitely male. Robin thinned his eyes and looked over to Argent.

He nodded, and Argent smiled evilly in return, tightening the grip of her red energy bonds around the Rat. He squealed in protest.

"All right, please, I'll talk!"

Hot Spot cocked an eyebrow.

_Isn't it supposed to be harder than that?_

Robin nodded at Argent, who eased off. The Rat took a deep breath.

"I'll ask again; who are you?"

"The name's Gnaww."

Robin's eyes thinned beneath his mask. "Why did you run from us?"

"You were chasin' me."

The Boy Wonder was silent for a moment, and then turned to look at Argent. Gnaww's eyes widened in shock.

"No, no, please! I was going to report you!"

Robin turned back around, his face as grim as Hot Spot had ever seen it. "Report us to who?"

"The… the Gordanians."

Robin paused. "Why? How did you know to report _us _to the Gordanians?"

Gnaww slowly reached into this jacket, and Argent squeezed him in response.

"Wait… Please! I'm just gonna show him somethin'!"

Robin nodded at Argent, who loosened the bonds. Taking another grateful breath, Gnaww reached into his jacket and pulled out a piece of paper. On it were the faces of Robin, Cyborg, Beast Boy, Raven and Starfire, with squiggles of writing below the pictures that Hot Spot assumed was some sort of alien language.

"They said that if any of these guys were seen, we should report it immediately. They said we'd get a big reward!"

Robin just stared at the piece of paper in front of him before looking back up at the alien. "Why are the Gordanians after us? Does it have something to do with Tamaran?"

"Not Tamaran; Tamaranian. Just her," he said, pointing to Starfire.

Robin's eyes glazed over beneath his mask. "It was a trap… Tamaran was never in trouble…" He scowled and looked back up at Gnaww.

"What do you know about this?" he yelled, making everyone around him jump with his sudden ferocity.

"Only r-rumours," Gnaww said, wincing slightly in anticipation of Robin's attack. When none came, he looked up at the Boy Wonder questioningly. The Boy Wonder was simply stood with his arms crossed, tapping his foot patiently.

"Well?" he spat, making Hot Spot flinch.

"Uh… w-well… you know that girl was meant to be delivered to the Citadel a while back, right?"

Robin nodded. "Right."

"Well, some humans freed her on Earth, and she's been staying with them ever since. The Citadel wasn't too happy about this, but they couldn't get her back 'cause there were so many freaky humans with weird powers on that planet. 'Sides, they were busy with wars and stuff. But recently, there was talk of someone with a grudge against the girl coming to the Citadel and offering to bring her to them. So obviously, they said yes."

"Who was it?"

"Nobody knows. These are just rumours. Rumour has it she's already been captured, and she's on her way now."

Robin tried his best not to let his emotions get the best of him. "Where are they going to take her?"

"The Citadel home world."

"And do you know where that is?"

"Of course, everyone knows th-" Gnaww replied instantly, before slapping a hand over his mouth. Although why he did that and not slap his hand over his eye/mouth/thing, Hot Spot didn't know.

Argent smiled. "And I'm guessing you've got a ship, too," she said, the smile quickly becoming a smirk.

"You're crazy! You can't just fly head first into the Citadel home world! You'll be ripped apart before you even land!"

Robin's face became even harder, if that were possible. "Then you'd better be a good pilot."

The large rat seemed ready to protest, but then went limp, letting out a resigned sigh. Hot Spot smile became sympathetic.

_I know how you feel._

Hot Spot frowned.

_What are you, nuts? You're sympathising with a giant alien rat!_

Shaking his head, he followed the other Titans and their captive as they made their way out of the alleyway and to Gnaww's ship.

_I guess that alien air's getting to me too._

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(A/N: Well, it seems that most of the hi-jinks came _before _they arrived in the city, but hey… it's all good.

Now, fans of _Superman: The Animated Series _might recognise Gnaww from 'The Main Man, parts 1 and 2', and just in case you don't:

_http/worldsfinestonline. com/WF/superman/reviews/ mainman2/ 01.jpg _

Remember to remove the spaces before you use the link.

_Justice League Unlimited _fans might know the name of the government agency mentioned here, too, as well as the 'stout black woman', but I'm not gonna spell _that _out for you.

And yeah, 'Scum and Villainy', as in 'A Wretched Hive of'. Come on, it's a great line from a great movie!

Anyways, reviews bees goods.)


	5. Uncomfortable Surroundings

Disclaimer: I don't own _Teen Titans._

_**A Strange Business**_

_**Chapter Five: Uncomfortable Surroundings**_

Val-Yor smirked derisively as he opened the door for them. Starfire could practically feel his disgusted gaze as she helped Red Star into the shining medical area. The entire room was a neutral white, with a pale, glassy blue on certain areas. The Russian hero groaned with relief as she sat him down on the examination bed, offering a small smile.

"Thank you," he said quietly, and Starfire smiled back.

Val-Yor snorted loudly and leant against the doorway frame, crossing his arms in front of him. "If you two Troqies are done with your love fest, would you mind telling me why you were out there in the first place?"

Red Star frowned at the alien's tone of voice. It was a familiar one that he had heard many times before; it was the voice one used when talking down to another, when trying to make themselves feel better by belittling those who they perceived as a threat. As he cast his gaze over the shining, armour like face of Val-Yor, Red Star instantly made up his mind.

He didn't like him.

Starfire continued to tend to Red Star's wounds, not once looking back at Val-Yor. Red Star could see the slightly insulted look on Val-Yor's face, and tried his best not to smirk.

"We were on our way to Tamaran when we were ambushed by the Gordanians. Please lift your shirt," she said, pointing to the charred green tunic that Red Star was wearing. Red Star complied, hissing through his teeth as the fabric rubbed against his burns.

"The Gordanians? You must be seeing things, Troqie. There hasn't been any Gordanian activity here for months; I saw to that," he said, a certain measure of pride seeping into his voice.

Starfire still didn't turn around, wrapping some kind of bizarre alien bandages that seemed to soothe the burning pain, drenching Red Star's burns in an almost numbing coolness. "You saw them attacking us. It appears you did not 'see to it' as well as you thought."

Val-Yor scowled and mumbled something unintelligible, and this time Red Star couldn't hold back the smirk on his face. Starfire seemed to know what he was smiling about, but managed to keep her face relatively straight.

"I'll be on the bridge. Don't take too long; I don't want you on this ship for longer than you have to be," Val-Yor said, obviously frustrated at being insulted by Starfire.

He pushed himself from the doorframe and left, the door hissing shut shortly after. Starfire's shoulders visibly relaxed, and she picked up Red Star's shirt, holding it up for the both of them to see.

"I am afraid I am not very good with clothing repairs," she said, a hint of a smile on her face. Red Star shrugged and smiled, gently taking the tunic from his friend.

"It is all right. I am actually quite adept at it." Starfire looked at him with a cocked eyebrow. "I had… much free time," he said sheepishly, looking down as he put on his top. Red Star was immediately impressed at the bandages. He twisted his torso from side to side, stretching his arms out.

"These bandages are excellent. I feel no pain at all. What are they made of?"

Starfire paused. "I think you would feel better _not_ knowing."

The Russian hero paused in mid stretch, a slightly perturbed look on his face. "Oh."

Starfire smiled and moved over to the other side of the room, nonchalantly looking around the room with a disinterested gaze.

"Starfire… how do you know him?"

Either she hadn't heard him, or she was choosing to ignore the question. Red Star respected both, and simply took to looking for some kind of weaving tool to repair his clothing. There was what looked like a chest of drawers next to the bed, although the drawers had no handles. He pushed one of the drawers in slightly, and it slid out obligingly. Red Star smiled and nodded at the efficiency.

"Do you require any assistance?"

Red Star turned back to Starfire, and saw that she had turned to look at him from the other side of the room. Her arms were crossed, but not in any disapproving way. It was something that Red Star had seen in Starfire a lot since they had begun working together; when she was unsettled, she would cross her arms to the point where she was almost hugging herself, as though she were cold. Red Star smiled politely.

"I was looking for some kind of tool to repair my clothes."

Starfire nodded and made her way over, kneeling at the chest of drawers and opening the next one down. The two commenced a search throughout the different drawers and storage cupboards in the room. They were on opposite sides of the room when Starfire spoke.

"His name is Val-Yor. We- that is, the Titans and I- met him a few months before we met you. He required assistance in fighting an alien race of machines known as the Locrix."

Red Star turned from his rummaging in an overheard storage compartment to look at Starfire, but she was knelt before another chest of drawers, not turning to face him as she spoke.

"He is not fond of you, I take it."

Starfire sighed. "No, he is not."

Red Star pulled out a strange yellow device from the cupboard above him, and turned to display it to Starfire. "Is this it?"

Starfire turned and her eyes widened. "Be very quiet," she said, putting a finger to her lips. "Put it back in the compartment slowly, and close the door very, _very _carefully."

Red Star, now officially horrified, turned and delicately placed the yellow device back in the cupboard, and, as commanded, closed the door with the lightest of touches. The door clicked shut, and the two let out a collective sigh of relief.

"What was it?" he asked.

"You do not want to know," Starfire replied simply, turning back to her rummaging.

Red Star returned to his search also, although he was slightly more wary of yellow devices as he opened another compartment door.

"Why does he call us 'Troqies'?"

Starfire didn't reply at first, and Red Star was tempted to repeat the question when she spoke up.

"It is from the word 'Troq'."

"What does it mean?"

"Nothing."

Red Star frowned slightly. "Nothing?"

"Useless. Worthless." She paused. "Nothing."

He froze as his face darkened considerably. "So he is a racist," he growled, his brow knotted with anger.

"Yes."

Slamming the door shut, Red Star was unmindful of the loud noise as the small door fell from its placement on the wall. He stormed towards the door of the medical bay with his fists ready and his jaw clenched, when Starfire moved in front of him.

"Do not do anything."

"What? How can you say that? Did you let him do this to you the last time you met?"

Starfire remained silent, and Red Star straightened up to his full height, crossing his arms in frustration. "I see," he said, turning away from the Tamaranian slightly.

"Please, Red Star, try to understand. I am showing him that I am not what he thinks I am. I am being better than he is by not responding to what he says." She laid a hand on his shoulder. "And I _know_ you are better than him, Leonid. Please, do not do anything."

Red Star moved his lower jaw from side to side as he looked around the room. He eventually brought his gaze around to Starfire, sighing. "All right."

A smile spread across the Tamaranian's face. "Thank you."

However, Red Star's scowl remained. "Were the other Titans subjected to this treatment also?"

Starfire shook her head. "Not at first. But when they made it clear that they saw me as an equal, Val-Yor then considered them Troqs."

"And, I am guessing, humans in general."

Her only reply was a small nod as she looked away and moved back to the drawer she was searching previously. Red Star wondered how Starfire and the other Titans could have allowed such a thing to go on. They were too noble and honourable to have simply stood by and do nothing. He wondered how Robin could have simply let something like that happen to Starfire; if anyone should have been aware as to what Val-Yor was doing to Starfire, he was.

Suddenly, the ship was rocked violently, and Starfire toppled backwards with a yelp. Red Star effortlessly caught her and helped her to her feet. With a thankful nod, she flew towards the door, Red Star quickly following. They quickly turned a corner as another loud noise rocked the ship, sending the two careening into the wall of the corridor.

A door ahead exploded from its frame, sending it crashing noisily into the wall opposite. Three Gordanians stepped through, each wearing strange armour that even Starfire seemed puzzled by. They each brandished the same electrocuting staffs as the Gordanians that had earlier attacked Starfire.

They spotted Red Star and Starfire instantly, and turned to face them, each getting into a fighting stance. Red Star did the same, and glanced over to see Starfire's eyes and hands begin to glow with green energy.

A red blast of energy struck one of the Gordanians in the back, and he turned to see Val-Yor stood behind them, eyes glowing red and his arms crossed.

"You can do whatever you want to the Troqies, but you leave my ship alone."

The Gordanian charged towards the glistening hero, stabbing forward with its staff. The others followed suit and attacked Red Star and Starfire.

Val-Yor dodged to his left, causing the Gordanian to sail past on his own momentum. Val-Yor brought his elbow down on the lizard's spine, causing it to yell out in pain and stumble forward. Angered at being so easily countered, he turned and growled. Val-Yor beckoned him forth.

Starfire leapt backwards as the Gordanian swiped at her belly. Aiming at the Gordanian's ankles, she fired two eye beams. The Gordanian leapt above the blast and brought his staff down on Starfire's head, slamming her into the floor. Twirling his staff around in his hands so that the electric prong was facing downwards, he brought it down on Starfire. She deftly rolled backwards out of the way and leapt to her feet, her starbolts at the ready.

The third Gordanian jabbed the prong of his staff at Red Star's head, who quickly flitted his head out of the way. Ducking the next swipe at his head, he countered with an uppercut that sent the Gordanian into the ceiling, gravity guiding him painfully to the floor. Red Star approached the snarling Gordanian confidently, when he suddenly pointed his staff at the Russian hero, firing an electrical charge at his injured stomach.

Although the alien bandages had been helping in the healing process, it was still a tender area, and so the pain was tenfold what it normally would have been. Red Star bellowed in pain as he was trust back down the corridor at great speed.

Starfire, distracted by her friend's pain, turned slightly to make sure he was all right. That was all the Gordanian opposite her needed. He fired his staff at her, sending jolt upon jolt of painful electricity through the Tamaranian. She knelt as the pain spread across her entire body. Starfire gritted her teeth and pushed herself to her feet, causing a shocked look to cross the Gordanian's face.

Just as it seemed as though she would break free of the onslaught, the Gordanian that had been facing Red Star turned his own staff on Starfire, dropping her to her knees once again.

Val-Yor laid another well placed blow on his opponents head, shattering his teeth and his armour for what seemed the hundredth time.

"Are you done now?"

The Gordanian smiled. "I think so," he croaked, and quickly leapt away to where the other two Gordanians had trapped Starfire in a crackling field of electricity.

Val-Yor looked down the corridor and saw that Red Star was struggling to his feet and making his way forward. Gritting his teeth, the intergalactic superhero jumped onto the back of his previous opponent, smashing his head into the floor. Using the unconscious Gordanian as a springboard, Val-Yor hurtled forward, slamming into one of the Gordanian's and sending it flying towards Red Star.

Now recovering, Red Star knotted his fists together and slammed them downwards as the Gordanian reach him, embedding the reptilian alien in the floor.

Smirking, Val-Yor smashed his fist into the other Gordanian's face, sending him through a door behind him and into a storage bay.

Starfire, now free of the energy that had bombarded her, looked up at Val-Yor in confusion.

"I owed you one from last time," he said simply. "I don't like being indebted to Troqs."

Another explosion rocked the ship, and Val-Yor cursed beneath his breath.

"What the hell are they doing!" he yelled, turning and running down the corridor to the elevator leading to the bridge.

Starfire struggled to her feet, and Red Star looked at her concernedly as he reached her. She smiled reassuringly.

"I am fine. We should follow," she said, nodding in the direction Val-Yor left in.

The two made their way to the elevator, and once inside, Starfire pushed a button for the bridge, which she remembered from her previous visit.

During the silence that followed, Red Star couldn't help but look over at the smaller Tamaranian standing next to her.

"Why did he help you?" he asked, and couldn't help but notice the pained look on Starfire's face.

"Because… he was repaying a debt."

Red Star ducked his head slightly. "You… saved his life?"

Starfire nodded, and Red Star looked away, his mouth slightly agape in shock. Not because Starfire saved his life; he wouldn't expect anything less from the Tamaranian. It was simply because Val-Yor still treated her like he did, even though she had saved his life.

"And still… he calls you Troq?"

Starfire didn't reply.

As far as Red Star was concerned, she didn't need to.

The doors opened with a quiet hiss, revealing Val-Yor frantically pushing at buttons and firing weapons.

"Can we help?" Starfire asked, although Red Star suspected she already knew the answer.

"Just because I saved you, doesn't mean I want you touching my ship," he said, not once looking away from the controls.

Red Star stepped forward, anger burning in his eyes. Starfire put a reprimanding arm over his chest, and he once again held back.

Another loud boom rocked the ship, followed by a loud hum that slowly diminished until it was gone.

"Damn it!"

Starfire frowned. "What is it?"

"They've drained the shields somehow – we're sitting ducks," Val-Yor growled, slamming a frustrated fist into the control panel beneath him.

Red Star heard another humming beside him, and he assumed it was the ship doing something else, when he noticed that Starfire was fading away, slowly being replaced by a bright blue light.

"Starfire?"

"Red Star! What is-?"

She was cut off as she vanished from sight. Suddenly, the explosions stopped, and Red Star saw the attacking Gordanian ship leaving through the viewscreen. Val-Yor let out a grunt of surprise and amusement.

"So… they were after the Troqie. Trust her to be the cause of my ship being wrecked."

Red Star stepped forward and put a hand on his shoulder, trying his best to contain the rage bubbling beneath his surface.

"We must follow them."

Val-Yor smirked derisively and shrugged off his hand. "Are you space-happy? Why would I bother going out of my way for that Troq-"

Red Star snapped. Grabbing Val-Yor's shoulders, he whirled him around and slammed him into the control panel behind him, sending sparks flying. Val-Yor grit his teeth and glared at the Russian hero.

"What the hell are you doing, Troq!"

Red Star delivered a jab to his face, silencing him. "_My_ name is Red Star. _Her_ name is Starfire. You will address us as such." He inched his face closer to his. "Do you understand, Troq?"

His eyes widening and his teeth crunching together in outrage, Val-Yor put his feet up against Red Star's tender stomach and kicked out, sending him hurtling across to the other side of the bridge. Val-Yor quickly slammed into him, pinning him to the wall with his forearm pressed against Red Star's neck.

"_What did you call me?" _Val-Yor hissed violently, jamming his arm into Red Star's neck.

"The definition of 'Troq' is 'worthless'… 'useless', yes?" Red Star gasped, somehow managing to keep his voice steady. "And you must certainly feel as though you are worthless and useless to treat others as you do."

Red Star slammed his knee into Val-Yor's stomach, and the intergalactic hero's grip on his neck loosened. Red Star's head sprung forth in a head butt, his forehead colliding with Val-Yor's nose and sending him stumbling back.

"Therefore…" Red Star said, delivering a vicious punch to Val-Yor's gut, "You are 'Troq'." Bringing his fist up in an uppercut, he sent Val-Yor hurtling across the room once again, almost knocking him through the control panel behind him. Val-Yor slowly pulled himself out of the control panel, groaning. Red Star clasped a hand over his neck, bringing him forward so they were nose to nose.

"We are going to follow them, and we are going to rescue Starfire. Do you understand?"

His face contorted in an enraged snarl, Val-Yor didn't reply. Red Star jerked him by the neck, sending his head whipping back and forth.

"Do. You. Understand."

Val-Yor nodded, and Red Star pulled him to his feet.

"Good."

He turned and walked to the elevator. "I am going to question the Gordanians." He stepped inside and pushed a button, even though he didn't know which button indicated the right floor.

The doors hissed shut, cutting off his view of Val-Yor. Letting out a long breath, Red Star fell back and leant against the side of the elevator, using the bar that ran around the middle of the elevator to steady himself.

Starfire would not be happy when she heard of this; Red Star knew that for certain. But it didn't matter. He had spent most of his life exiled and alone, and Starfire had reached out to him, making him feel as though he were a worthwhile human being once again. She had shown him that there were others who would not judge on appearances or differences. For Val-Yor to dare to imply that she was worthless, useless…

Red Star shook his head free of such thoughts. He had already allowed himself the luxury once; he did not want to attack Val-Yor again. The doors opened, and Red Star saw that it was the wrong floor. Sighing, he pushed the next button down.

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Starfire couldn't see. She wasn't sure if it was because the cell she was in was too dark, or whether it was some side effect of the experimental teleporter the Gordanians had used to kidnap her. It brought back… unpleasant memories. Memories of the experiments… of the endless torture and pain that was wrought on her. She had hoped that she would never be here again.

The cell door opened, and Starfire looked up drowsily. Much to her relief, she wasn't blind. She was, however, drugged. Her vision was too blurry to make out any details that were _too _specific, but she could see the drug line that was hooked up into her body, slowing her reactions but increasing the sensitivity of her nervous system. Every little ache and pain she had acquired since the Titans set off into space became separate worlds of agony around her body, almost numbing her to anything else.

Two shadowy Gordanians stepped through the door, taking places on either side of the doorway. Another shadowy figure stepped through between them, but this one was most definitely _not _Gordanian. In fact, it looked almost… human? And female, to boot.

"Well, well. The Gordanian's _weren't _exaggerating. They really do have you. I had to take a transport over here just to see you."

Starfire shook her head in a vain attempt to clear her vision.

"Don't bother, sister dear," a smooth voice echoed through the darkness. "The substance being pumped through your veins could slow the reactions of ten Galfore's.

"Black…fire?" Starfire asked drearily. Her tongue felt three times too big for her mouth. As the figure approached, the dim light shaped around her and revealed her older sister, standing before her in her usual black and silver outfit.

"Why are you…?"

There was a blur of motion, and pain exploded onto Starfire's face. The drug's effects amplified what should have been an ordinary backhand into a burning, writhing pain.

"Why do you think? You overthrow me from the throne, banish me from my own home world, and you expect me to just lie down and take it!"

"You were… wrong," Starfire managed, unable to find the correct words in her groggy mind.

Blackfire laughed, and Starfire felt the anger welling up inside her. It helped to clear her mind somewhat.

"You were… wrong, and you were abusing your position as Empress for your own personal gains." She looked her sister straight in the eyes. "You were a bad ruler. You were not right for Tamaran."

"Yes, I heard about you handing over the throne to Galfore," Blackfire retorted, her voice reflecting the smirk on her face. "What a choice."

"You will not… you will…" Starfire lost the words in her throat as the drugs once again took effect.

"You have no idea how enjoyable it is to see you like this, sister. Seeing perfect, pretty Starfire finally getting what she deserves…" Blackfire grabbed Starfire's head roughly by the hair, pulling her up to meet her cruel gaze. "I told you I'd get even, didn't I?"

She released Starfire's head, letting it droop helplessly. Blackfire stood and walked towards the door. Stopping at the doorway, she turned and smiled.

"And do you know what the most _wondrous _thing of all is?" she said, saying 'wondrous' in a mocking version of Starfire's stilted language. "This is only the beginning for you."

She turned and left, followed by the two Gordanians. The door closed with a loud clang, once more engulfing Starfire in darkness.

And she was alone.

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"Starfire?"

Robin opened his eyes and sat up suddenly in his chair, causing Hot Spot, Argent and Gnaww to turn and face him. Hot Spot cocked an eyebrow.

"Robin? Are you okay?"

The Boy Wonder suddenly felt out of breath. "I…" He looked the Moroccan Titan in the eyes, grateful that his mask hid the uncertainty in his blue eyes. "…yeah, I'm fine." He cleared his throat and stood, looking over at Gnaww.

"How long?"

Gnaww pushed a few buttons and inspected a screen on his right. "A few more hours. I still don't know what you're planning to do once we get there, though."

"We'll think of something," Robin replied simply and determinedly. He looked over at Argent.

"Your turn, Argent. Try to get some rest."

She looked at him with a slightly odd expression for a moment, and then shook her head, as though removing some unusual thought from her mind. "Uh… right."

She turned her chair around and closed her eyes, trying to nod off, or at least give her a break from looking at the eyesore that was Gnaww.

Hot Spot looked over at the Titan leader. "Robin? You sure you're okay?"

The Boy Wonder now had his arms crossed, looking at the wall in front of them determinedly.

"Don't you have some kind of viewscreen?"

Gnaww snorted. "You want a viewscreen? Get on a luxury liner."

"Robin?"

Robin looked over at Hot Spot irritably at first, but then his expression softened. "Uh… yeah… I'm fine. I'm just-"

"Worried?"

He sighed and nodded.

"We'll find them, Robin. We'll find _her_. Don't worry."

Robin was ready to dispute the 'her' comment, but realised it was pointless. He simply sighed and nodded, offering a weak smile. Hot Spot nodded towards the resting Argent.

"What's going on between you and her? Did I miss something, or…?"

The awkward attempted kiss of the previous night suddenly appeared in Robin's brain. "Nothing," he said quickly, making Hot Spot cock an eyebrow in response.

"That is, nothing _important_."

Hot Spot continued to stare at him. "Right," he said slowly, before turning around and sitting back down in his chair, resting his head on his interlocked hands and putting up his feet on the control panel.

"Hey! Boots off the control panels! I spent the better part of a year polishing this baby!" Gnaww exclaimed, and Hot Spot looked over at him incredulously, while still not removing his feet.

"The better part of a year? What was the worse part?"

"I don't see boots being taken off the control panel!"

"And I don't hear an answer to my question!"

Sighing and shaking his head, Robin made his way to the back of the ship as the two continued to argue, hoping to find some blank, empty area he could practice some martial arts.

There was no denying he was worried before. But after what he felt in his dream, he couldn't help but feel a bigger sense of urgency driving him than before.

All he knew was that he had never seen Starfire in such pain before. Had never seen her so alone.

He found an empty spot in what he assumed was the cargo bay. Pulling out his Bo staff, he began practising.

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The elevator doors hissed open, and Red Star stepped through. Val-Yor was slowly moving about the bridge, pushing different buttons and pulling different switches. Still stood at his full height, he paused as Red Star entered.

"Repairs are complete. We're almost ready to go."

Red Star nodded. "The Gordanians say that they are taking Starfire to The Citadel home world. Do you know where that is?"

"It's one of the most heavily guarded planets in the known universe, but I know where it is."

"How long?"

Val-Yor shrugged. "About an hour."

"Very well." Red Star turned towards the elevator and stopped. "Val-Yor. I wish to… apologise for my actions. I was not-"

"Do me a favour. Don't make it worse by apologising."

The Russian hero paused, and then nodded, turning back to the elevator. "Very well." As he stepped in, he turned to face Val-Yor, who was once again sat in his command chair.

Remaining silent, he pushed a button, and the doors closed.

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(A/N: And there you go. Another chapter done and dusted. Man, I had a mental image of that Red Star/Val-Yor fight for so long – it's what inspired this entire story, in fact.

Next chapter: We catch up with Cyborg and the others. Let me put it this way; Cyborg's got plans for two certain Titans…

Anyhow, review!)


	6. Just a Little Girly

Disclaimer: I don't own _Teen Titans_.

_**A Strange Business**_

**_Chapter Six: Just a Little Girly_**

He knocked gently on the door, and stood nervously, waiting for a response. When no response came, Gnarrk wondered if had done the gesture of politeness wrong. It had taken him long enough to get used to the idea of other people being around him - and the personal space that came along with them. But Kole's crash course in surface world etiquette seemed to have mended these problems. Or at least, so he thought.

He put his ear to the door.

"Gnarrk?" he asked quietly, then proceeded to knock again. The small intercom next to the door crackled quietly as it came alive.

"Come in," came the reply, and the intercom promptly shut itself off. Gnarrk was rather proud of how he hadn't responded in any way to the technology's sudden reply; he was getting used to this surface world stuff.

The door slid open, and Gnarrk cautiously walked through as he saw the entire room engulfed in darkness.

"Gnarrk?" he enquired gently, his voice reverberating slightly around the room. A sudden light shone in his face, and he quickly brought his hand up to shield his assaulted corneas. Through the almost completely blinding light, Gnarrk made out the silhouette of Cyborg. The spotlight on Gnarrk's face suddenly vanished, and through the flashing coloured spots, Gnarrk could see Cyborg sitting down at a table opposite him. He flashed a grin at the confused caveman.

"Sorry 'bout that, Gnarrk. I've always wanted to do the whole 'sinister meeting' thing from the movies."

Gnarrk remained silent.

"Heh… but I guess you don't really get that, do you?"

Gnarrk scratched his head, cocking an eyebrow at the now sheepish looking half robot.

"Uh… Sorry." He gestured to the chair opposite his desk. "Take a seat, take a seat."

Gnarrk cautiously and slowly made his way over to the chair and sat down, keeping his eyes on Cyborg as he did so. Cyborg cleared his throat.

"So. Narrk.

"**_G_**narrk."

"Sorry. **_G_**narrk. You may or may not have noticed this, but lately, Jericho and Kole have been… uh…"

"Gnarrk?"

"Exactly. And I was wondering how you felt about that."

Gnarrk shrugged. "Gnarrk Gnarrk Gnarrk Gnarrk Gnarrk."

Cyborg smiled and nodded. "That's what I figured. You're a good friend, Narrk."

"**_G_**narrk."

"Right. And, since you _do _feel that way, I was wondering if you were willing to help me to… uh… fan the flames…?" Cyborg said, suggestively moving his eyebrows up and down.

Gnarrk's face remained blank.

"Uh… help them on their way…?"

Gnarrk's face remained blank.

"That is… push them in the right direction…?"

Gnarrk's face remained blank.

Cyborg sighed. "Romance and whatnot."

The caveman nodded and smiled. "Oh, _Gnarrk…_" He leaned forward conspiratorially, cupping his hand around his ear. "Gnarrk?" he asked curiously, and Cyborg grinned. He was just glad to have an accomplice who wouldn't turn into a cat and take a nap in the middle of a plan. He leaned forward and cupped his hand around his mouth, though he knew no-one would be able to hear them through the sound proof walls.

"Ok, here's what we do…"

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"But when do you get back?" Kole asked tiredly.

The Titan frowned on the monitor in front of her. _"We should be back in a day or so."_

Kole allowed a small frown in response while she sat on the sofa cradling a now slumbering Teether. "Why so long? Is it still Overload causing trouble?"

Raven sighed. _"No."_

"Some other villain then?"

"_No."_

"Then what?"

As if in response, a loud yelp came from the background, followed by a splash. Kole and Raven looked at each other with the same irritated expression, even speaking at the same time.

"Beast Boy…"

Raven sighed again and rubbed her closed eyes. _"He wanted to take a break in the Black Sea."_ She turned to her left._ "What did you do **now**?"_

A knocking came on her pod, and she looked up to see Bushido silently gesturing for her to come outside, the slightest of smiles on his face. She nodded and turned back to Kole.

"_I'll be back in a minute."_

She pulled herself out of the pod, and Kole looked down at Teether and gently cradled the baby as she waited for the empath to return. Though they were far away from the microphone of the pod, Kole could make out the argument.

"_What were you doing?"_

Beast Boy's voice jumped slightly as he replied. _"Hey! It wasn't my fault! Cyborg shouldn't have made these things so slippy!"_

"_You mean the T-ship that was **designed **to have a smooth surface for better use in space and undersea travel?"_

"…_maybe."_

Raven sighed heavily. _"Look, Beast Boy, just get out of the sea, so we can leave."_

"_No way! This is so much fun! Just come for a swim and you'll see…"_ he said, and Kole could tell he was grinning as he spoke. She shook her head and chuckled slightly. The green changeling truly delighted in driving Raven up the wall and back again.

"_I am **not **going to come for a swim, but what I **am **going to do is come in there and get you if you don't stop goofing off!"_

"_Ah, just chill out. It's the Black Sea! Most girls would **love **to come here and just float around."_

"_I'm not most girls."_

There was a brief silence.

"_What did you say?"_

"_Nothing!" _Beast Boy replied, he voice rising a defensive octave. _"Look, just gimme some time to enjoy this place. Bushido likes it here."_

There was another silence.

"_You… like it here?" _Raven asked, some incredulity in her voice.

There was a pause before Bushido spoke. _"It **is **peaceful."_

Raven sighed loudly. _"Fine. A few hours, then we go."_

The grin on Beast Boy's face was evident from his voice. _"Great! And then maybe you'll decide to chill out and come for a float in the water, huh?"_

A slight slapping noise and a lot of shuffling followed, accompanying Raven's surprised yell. There was a loud splash, and Kole cocked an eyebrow at the monitor.

"_Heh heh… oops?"_

Kole became slightly horrified at the monstrous voice that followed.

"_I… will… **kill**… you."_

"_Uh… you, uh… I mean… KOLE! You need to speak to Kole! Right?"_

There was a silence, the only noise the sound of Raven pulling herself out of the water. The pale empath's face appeared on the monitor. She was dripping wet, her mouth turned downwards in a stony scowl.

"_I'll see you later."_

The image winked out, and Kole couldn't help but feel sorry for Beast Boy. She wondered how Bushido would take the massacre that was about to occur before him. Resolving to ask him about it when he returned, Kole stood and made her way over to the crib that Cyborg had made for Teether. She gently set the baby down, and looked down at the slumbering infant hero with a smile.

She reached out and stroked Teether's face. It was so soft to her touch that her eyes nearly glazed over. A shadow overtook the sleeping baby, and she looked up to see Jericho looking down at him also. She smiled.

"Hard to believe we were all that small once, huh?"

The mute hero nodded, a fond smile on his face. He nodded over to the sofa, where he had laid the slumbering forms of Timmy Tantrum and Melvin. Looking back to Kole, he exaggeratedly let his shoulders slump and put on an exhausted expression. Kole let out a small laugh.

"Yeah, I know. You'd think in our line of work we'd be able to keep up with a bunch of kids."

Simply offering a nod, Jericho surveyed the room, and upon surmising that it was pretty much empty, he held up his finger to Kole. After hanging around with the mute hero for a few weeks, Kole had managed to pick up a few of his gestures and their meanings. For her sake, he had taken to gesturing in a more charades manner, rather than trying to communicate with her in sign language.

Of course, she had been learning in the meantime, but she didn't want him to know until she felt fairly confident in her abilities. Cyborg had been giving her lessons from his files, but he wasn't the best at giving out instructions. If you didn't get what he was trying to teach you right away, he would get frustrated. He would try and hide it politely, of course, but Kole could tell that he was mentally grinding his jaw every time she shrugged at what he was saying to her in sign language.

Jericho returned through the doors with his guitar, and Kole sighed. She shook her head and sighed.

"I don't think we can. The kids-"

Jericho put a finger to his lips and pointed to the clock on the wall. According to the digital time keeper, it was now Cyborg and Gnarrk's shift with the kids, and yet they were nowhere to be seen. In fact, they were running late. About ten minutes late, to be exact. Kole frowned and looked over at Jericho.

"Have you seen them anywhere?"

He shrugged and shook his head. The pink haired teen sighed and rubbed her forehead. "Now I see why Raven gets so stressed out…"

Offering a reassuring smile, Jericho took Kole's hand and led her over to the sofa, where he sat and set his guitar aside. Putting his fingers to his lips, he tiptoed over to the TV as though he were a pantomime villain, twirling his imaginary moustache as he went. Kole giggled, and then ducked her head and covered her mouth as she remembered the sleeping children on the sofa next to her.

Jericho poked around the TV for a moment, trying to find the power button in the semi darkness of the room. Cyborg had altered the window 'frequency' slightly so as to block out half of the light coming in from the outside when they were attempting to get the kids to sleep. It was a neat idea, but it only half worked.

The TV suddenly sprang to life loudly.

"_AND THEN YOU ADD THE SNAILS," _a voice boomed, causing Jericho to leap back from the screen in alarm and Kole to let out small yelp of shock.

She turned to the sofa and quickly picked up the remote, fumbling for the 'mute' button. Kole pressed the button and the chef was silenced. She let out a sigh of relief as Jericho flopped onto the sofa beside her. They quickly checked the children, praying to every deity in existence that they hadn't been awakened by the sudden noise.

They were all still asleep.

The pair let out a collective sigh and Kole turned down the volume of the TV. They settled into the sofa to watch the chef silently adding different ingredients and laughing at his own jokes. They would have turned on the subtitles, but neither of them was particularly interested in the show.

Kole looked over at her companion. "They seem to be taking their time, don't they?"

Jericho nodded and scratched his head, also wondering what was taking the two. It wasn't as though Cyborg and Gnarrk usually hung out together.

"Do you like these cooking programs?"

Jericho shook his head, and Kole smiled.

"Good, because I can't stand them either."

Jericho nodded and grinned, and began flipping the channels.

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Cyborg glared at Gnarrk in frustration.

"No… no… no. The candles have to be _scented_. You can't have romance with ordinary candles."

The caveman sighed and put the candle back on the shelf. The other patrons in the store were giving the two of them strange looks, and rightly so. Cyborg had been stocking up on various 'romantic dinner' supplies, and a half robot superhero being followed by a caveman was strange enough, even for Jump City.

If Cyborg hadn't been so hell bent on getting Jericho and Kole together, he probably would have thought about the repercussions of being seen purchasing romantic supplies with Gnarrk, particularly from the media. The last thing he needed were rumours of a love tryst between him and a caveman. Not that he had anything against Gnarrk; he just didn't want to be romantically linked with him. As it was, Cyborg was oblivious to such thoughts.

"Gnarrk?"

Cyborg turned and sighed, rubbing his eyes. "No, Narrk! I said scented candles. _Scented_."

"**_G_**narrk."

"That's what I said!" Cyborg shook his head with a frustrated groan. "Look, why don't you take care of the food. I've written a list, so you should be able to get all the stuff without any problems, okay?"

"Gnarrk, Gnarrk…"

The caveman skulked off out of the candle shop and towards the grocery store across the way. The other shoppers in the mall stopped to look at the caveman, who had decided not to wear any surface world clothes in favour of his loincloth. He found pants too restricting, and shirts pointless. He didn't need them to keep warm, so why bother?

He stepped into the grocery store and started to collect the various items that Cyborg had written. He looked down at the piece of crumpled paper and struggled to read the words illegibly scribbled there. Even Gnarrk had better handwriting than this.

A nervous store assistant worked her way over to him.

"E-excuse me sir. Can I help you with anything?"

The caveman blushed slightly as he realised the girl was quite pretty. "G…Gnarrk," he said, quickly pointing to the list.

"Um… Gnarrk… I see…" she said, reluctantly taking the list and attempting to read the writing. "Did you write this?"

Gnarrk shook his head. "Gnarrk _Gnarrk."_

After a brief moment of confusion, the store clerk's eyes lit up. "Oh, I know you! You're one of those new members of the Titans, aren't you?"

"Uh… Gnarrk?"

"Which one are you?"

"Gnarrk."

"Right, but what's your name?"

His earlier embarrassment quickly fading, Gnarrk looked down at the clerk, starting to become slightly annoyed. "Gnarrk."

"Yeah, but… what's… your… name?" she said loudly and slowly, as though that would help him to understand. Gnarrk ground his teeth together.

"_Gnarrk!"_

"What do you- oh, so you mean that's your name?"

He sighed and nodded in relief. "Gnarrk…"

"Is that all you can say? Are you like, a caveman or something?"

Gnarrk shook his head. "Gnarrk," he said sarcastically.

"You're not? Then what's the deal?"

Gnarrk sighed.

"Do you know Robin?"

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Cyborg looked through the CDs before him. He had quite a selection of music on his own personal computer system back at the Tower, but he had a feeling that tonight required something special. He had a feeling that R&B wasn't exactly Jericho or Kole's style, and had made his way over to the 'Pop' section.

He shook his head and grumbled as there was little to choose from here. He ceased his search for a moment and thought about the matter. He hadn't seen Kole being interested in much by the way of television of music, though she _had _already trounced Beast Boy at _Danger Team: Go For Broke_, and he doubted she would like to listen to the music from that game. He decided to leave that thought alone and went on to Jericho.

The blonde hero didn't really listen to anything in particular either; he just sat around and played his…

Cyborg's eyes lit up with inspiration, and he hurried over to another section of the music shop. The grin on his face was almost maniacal as he quickly browsed through and found a CD that would be perfect. Since Jericho liked to play the guitar, he must obviously like to listen to it. And Kole always seemed really interested in the music that Jericho played.

Cyborg smirked.

_Though that probably doesn't have much to do with the music._

"Gnarrk!"

Cyborg sighed and looked to the doorway out of the shop. Somebody was making a commotion on the lower floor.

_Three guesses who it is._

Quickly paying for the CD, Cyborg made his way downstairs via the escalators. He could have gotten there quicker, sure. But he felt like taking his time. Cyborg took the opportunity to slow down whenever he could, especially since the Max 7 incident. And, despite Gnarrk's predicament, this wasn't one of the times when Cyborg felt he needed to rush.

As the lower floor came into view, it became clear that Gnarrk had become the source of his own problems. Cyborg sighed.

"What happened?" he asked tiredly.

Gnarrk became slightly sheepish and pointed down to his foot. It had become ensnared in some kind of sticky pink substance.

"What the heck is _that, _Narrk?"

"**_G_**narrk."

"That's what I said. What did you do?"

"Gnarrk… Gnarrk Gnarrk Gnarrk Gnarrk Gnarrk. Gnarrk? Gnarrk, Gnarrk Gnarrk-"

Cyborg raised his hands. "Okay, okay, I get it. But why did you get _that _much bubblegum?"

Gnarrk pointed to the list, and Cyborg frowned.

"Gnarrk."

"What? You couldn't have misread _all _of these things."

Looking slight annoyed, Gnarrk shoved the list in Cyborg's face once again, pointing vehemently to the words written there.

"Gnarrk!"

Cyborg squinted as he tried to read his own writing. "Well… uh… it says… uh…" he sighed and looked down at the ground. "Never mind," he grumbled, kneeling and extending a small laser from his finger. "Just let me take care of this, and we'll go back in there and get the stuff we need."

"Gnarrk."

After Cyborg had cut Gnarrk free of the gum, the two made their way back into the store. The caveman looked over at him curiously.

"Gnarrk?"

Cyborg grinned. "It's one of the great romantic meals."

The caveman sighed. "Gnarrk… Gnarrk?"

Cyborg looked over at his companion in disbelief. "No I d-" he said, his voice raising a defensive octave. Clearing his throat, he brought his voice back down to its usual low level. "No, I don't think this is girly!"

Gnarrk shrugged. "Gnarrk…" he said nonchalantly, before moving off into the store.

"Narrk, this is _not _girly. Are you listening to me?"

"**_G_**narrk."

"That's what I said. Now, this isn't girly. I'm just… interested in helping my friends, all right?"

Gnarrk was silent.

"All right?"

Gnarrk shrugged. "Gnarrk, Gnarrk…"

Cyborg nodded. "Good. Now, let's find some veggie- wait, why are you smiling? It's not girly, Narrk!"

"**_G_**narrk."

"That's what I said."

Gnarrk sighed.

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Cyborg tiptoed into the living room, cautiously glancing from side to side as he entered. Upon seeing that all of the children were asleep, he gestured for Gnarrk to follow him, putting a finger to his lips to tell him to be quiet. Gnarrk nodded an affirmative and tiptoed after him.

A quick scan of the room revealed Jericho and Kole sat on the sofa. A grin spread across Cyborg's face as his scheme began. Making his way towards the sofa, he noticed that the two didn't seem to be moving. In fact…

Cyborg turned the corner, and his face dropped. They were both asleep, Kole resting her head on Jericho's shoulder, and the mute blonde's head resting on top of hers. It was an adorable sight.

And Cyborg couldn't be more annoyed.

"Ah, man!" he hissed, and Gnarrk looked at him curiously. Upon seeing Kole and Jericho asleep together, he just smiled. He looked up at Cyborg in confusion.

"Gnarrk?"

Cyborg glared at the caveman. "No, this _isn't _what I wanted! They were supposed to need _me _to do this stuff for them! They've got all romanced up without me!"

"Gnarrk… Gnarrk?"

"No, that's not better! I'm not used to these proactive, healthy couples. They're all supposed to be in denial and have deep psychological problems that stop them from getting together!" He gestured to Kole and Jericho. "This… _this_ is horrible! I mean… look at that. Look at how cute that is! There's no way I can compete with that."

The communication control panel beeped quietly, and Cyborg made his way over, still grumbling to himself as he went.

"Titans Tower," he sighed.

Raven's face appeared on the screen.

"Hey Raven."

The empath cocked an eyebrow. _"Where's Kole?"_

"Taking a nap," Cyborg replied with a scowl.

"_O…kay. And why does that put you in a bad mood?"_

"It doesn't. It's fine. Never mind. What's up?"

"_I don't know if Kole told you, but I told her it'd take a day or so for us to get back."_

"And?"

"_Well…" _she began, a slight smile on her face. _"Beast Boy insisted we head back at top speed."_

"Why's that?"

There was a pained groan over the communication channel, and Raven's smile increased in size. _"Apparently, jellyfish don't take kindly to Beast Boy."_

Cyborg couldn't help but laugh, but quickly calmed himself so as not to wake Jericho and Kole. Not to mention the children.

"_Ow… dude, it's not funny!"_

Cyborg grinned. "Oh, yeah. _That's _not funny." He cocked an eyebrow at Raven, cutting off Beast Boy's channel. "He _does _realise that you can heal him, right?"

"_Well… this should teach him not to pull me into the water." _Raven's smile lessened slightly as she began to talk about business again. _"Anyway… since we're heading back at full speed, we should be back before the end of the day."_

Cyborg nodded. "Right. Looking forward to seeing you. And Beast Boy," he added, grinning.

With a smirk, Raven signed off. Cyborg's grin became evil, and he rubbed his hands together. Gnarrk considered his expression curiously.

"Gnarrk?" he enquired.

Cyborg nodded. "Very perceptive, Narrk."

"**_G_**narrk."

"That's what I said. Anyway, we've got some planning to do."

"Gnarrk?"

"Raven and Beast Boy, that's who."

The caveman cocked an eyebrow in disbelief. "Gnarrk?"

"Oh yeah. They've got the major hots for each other."

Gnarrk shook his head. "Gnarrk…"

"They do! Seriously. Okay, maybe they don't _know _it… but they do."

Gnarrk sighed. "Gnarrk."

"Don't worry about it, it'll be fine. They'll appreciate it later. C'mon, Narrk."

"**_G_**narrk."

"That's what I said."

Gnarrk hadn't been on the surface world for long, but even _he _knew that he didn't really want to take part in this. But before he could protest, Cyborg had put his arm around his shoulder and coerced him out of the room and towards the garage, where Cyborg did most of his planning.

Gnarrk sighed.

Living with the Titans was a strange business.

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(A/N: And that's the peaceful interlude.

Next chapter: Things heat up as Red Star and Val-Yor arrive at the The Citadel home world.

So, review!)


	7. Raiding the Castle

Disclaimer: I don't own _Teen Titans._

_**A Strange Business**_

_**Chapter Seven: Raiding the Castle**_

The large black door slid open with a monstrous groan, and Starfire squinted as the light assaulted her sensitive eyes. The strange substance that was still being pumped into her body only got worse with prolonged exposure, her sight and balance almost completely lost to her now. Sounds were muffled and difficult to understand, and so Starfire could only guess over what had happened in the past few hours. It felt as though she were somewhere different; her logical mind told her that they had most likely arrived at the Citadel home world some time ago.

"Enjoying yourself, sister dear?"

Starfire assumed it was Blackfire speaking, although there was no way to be sure in her current condition. All she could hear were some distant muffled noises, as though everyone were talking through a pillow. She attempted to speak, and winced at the dryness in her throat.

"Sister… do not…"

Blackfire cupped her hand around her ear. "What's that? I can't hear you. You'll have to speak up."

Starfire shook her head. "I… what…"

Blackfire smirked and struck her sister across the face, causing her to yell in pain. Although Starfire's vision and hearing were impaired, her nerves had been put on fire by the strange substance, so that even the lightest blow would cause her indescribable pain.

Blackfire brought her hand back again, only for her hand to be grabbed by one of the Gordanian guards. She whirled on her heel to face him, wrenching her arm from his grasp.

"What do you think you're doing? I-"

Her words caught in her throat as she saw the cause of the Gordanian's restraint. The giant blue monster before her stepped forward, dressed in the orange garb that only belonged to one being in the universe: the First Citadelian. The leader of the powerful alien force known only as The Citadel, he was the result of an experiment by the Psions to mate two of the most powerful species in the known galaxy at the time. He revolted against his creators, and began using their cloning technology to create an army of subservient Citadelians, who would never question orders of think for themselves.

Using this army, the First Citadelian conquered the Psions, using them for his own purposes. He forged an alliance with the Gordanians, although neither questioned who the dominant side was. Then he came across Tamaran, and took a liking to the species of the planet. With the help of Blackfire, he managed to take over the planet, although her part in the invasion was known by few. Starfire and Galfore were among those who knew of her treachery. It was then that the pact between the two planets was made. The First Citadelian agreed to leave the Tamaranians in peace if they handed Starfire to him as his personal slave. With little choice but to comply, they did so.

The First Citadelian smirked at how things had come full circle. His arms clasped behind his back, he stalked past the trembling Blackfire and to the barely conscious Starfire. Using a large finger, her tilted her head up so that he could look at her. He smiled.

"Yes… that is her." He smirked at the Tamaranian. "First… you will pay for defying me. Then you will fulfil your duty as part of the pact. The only reason I did not return to your planet and conquer it after your escape is because of other, more pressing engagements." His smirk intensified as something disturbing flashed across his blank red eyes. "Now… I have none."

He turned and left the room, Blackfire quickly following. The door clanged shut behind them, and Blackfire looked to the alien ruler towering above her.

"What are you going to do to her?" she asked, her voice sounding more malicious than concerned.

"It does not concern you."

"She's my sister."

"Whom you helped us capture. I do not see why you are concerned for her health after you did so."

He stopped and turned to a Gordanian guard. "Tell the Psions to begin phase one of the operation."

The Gordanian nodded and left. Blackfire cocked an eyebrow. "Operation? What does that mean?"

"Nothing that concerns you," he boomed pointedly, turning to face her. "You have your payment. You are free to leave. Go."

He turned and left, walking down the corridor. Left alone, Blackfire turned back to the door, where she could hear the muffled grunts of Starfire as she attempted to escape in vain. Blackfire paused for a moment, but then walked away, shaking her head free of such thoughts.

"Stop being so stupid…"

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Through the viewscreen, the planet didn't look anywhere near as threatening as he had been told. It appeared so peaceful and serene, the pale blues and yellows swirling happily around one another. And yet, it was one of the most heavily guarded and violent planets in the known universe. That is, if Val-Yor was correct in what he told him.

"Well, here we are," the alien hero said, a silent snarl curling his lips as he gestured to the viewscreen. "I've put us just out of their sensor range. Now how do you propose we get through their defences?"

Red Star cocked an eyebrow and looked at Val-Yor. "I would guess that depends on how good a pilot you are."

If it were physically possible, Val-Yor's jaw would have hit the floor. "What are you high on, Tr-?"

He stopped himself in mid-sentence. "-Red Star?" he corrected frustratingly, grinding his teeth.

Choosing to ignore the slip up as well as the glare Val-Yor was shooting his way, Red Star just nodded and looked at the viewscreen ahead of him. "If you can get us into the planet's atmosphere, we can abandon the ship and fly the rest of the way in."

"All right. Let's assume, for the moment, that I actually agree to letting my ship get blown to bits. How do you propose we get off the planet if my ship has been destroyed by enemy fire? Which, by the way, I guarantee it will be."

Red Star shrugged. "We will figure that out when we get there. You see," he said, turning to Val-Yor, "Starfire and I can withstand the harsh conditions of space."

Val-Yor seemed taken aback for a moment, but quickly blew it off with a wave of his hand and a smirk. "Then maybe I should just wait in orbit for you."

The Russian hero's eyes thinned threateningly. "If you were anyone else, I would most likely trust you to do just that. But, considering who and what you are, I will have to insist that you accompany me to the surface. For you see," he said slowly, "I do not trust cowards."

Val-Yor looked ready to explode, but instead simply clenched his jaw as tightly as he could. "Fine. How about we go now?"

Red Star nodded. "Very well."

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Breathing heavily as he stepped through the much too wide doorway, Robin wiped a thick layer of sweat from his brow. Hot Spot was now resting where Argent was once sat, hunched forward over the control panel in front of him, using his crossed arms as a pillow of sorts. A further look around the room revealed Argent stood looking at several flashing lights, trying to look as though she knew exactly what they did.

Robin frowned. He still wasn't sure what to do about the British Titan. On the one hand, he could pretend like nothing happened, and hope that she would get the message and never speak of it again. The other option was to simply walk up to her and talk about what happened, and tell her that he doesn't like her in that way.

Robin thought for a moment.

_Option one. Easier._

And with that, the Boy Wonder made his way over to the pilot seat, where Gnaww was working the controls. Robin wasn't sure what would require Gnaww's attention now the ship was set on one constant course, but he admittedly knew little about the mechanics of space travel. Perhaps if he had Cyborg with him, he could ask him to question the rat like creature as to what he was doing. Of course, if Cyborg were here, he would have repaired the wrecked T-ship components, and they would have most likely been on their way to the Citadel home world much faster.

He began to wonder if having so many missions and members was such a good idea. The five of them made such a good team, it made little sense to split them up on different missions around the world.

Not to mention how their friendships were being stretched by the distance being put between them, both figurative and literal. He sighed as he approached Gnaww.

"How much longer?"

"Half an hour. Longer if you keep on bothering me!" he bit back irritably, but quickly cowered in response to Robin's glare.

But his heart wasn't in the glare, and the Boy Wonder turned around with another sigh. He flopped into an empty chair, crossing his arms as he did so. His bad feeling surrounding Starfire hadn't faded in the least, and the training hadn't helped ease his anxiousness. If anything, it had made him worse.

"Penny for you thoughts."

Robin looked over to see Argent sat in a chair next to her. Feeling the heat rise in his cheeks, Robin smiled nervously and tugged at his collar.

"I, err- hi, Argent."

Apparently, Argent was feeling just as nervous as he after the incident back on the planet's surface.

"Look, Robin, I'm sorry if what I did was wrong. I just thought that-"

"It's okay. Uh, you didn't, I mean… uh…" he smiled helplessly. "Please help me out here."

A good natured grin crossed her pale features, and she nodded. "Let's just consider it forgotten and talk about something else."

The Boy Wonder nodded, letting out a grateful breath. "Right, right."

"So… what are you planning on doing when we get there?"

Robin shrugged. "No idea. I'm not really used to forcing my way onto alien planets. We'll just have to improvise."

"Fair enough." She considered the Titan leader's troubled expression for a moment. "But that's not what's bothering you, is it?"

Robin paused for a moment, then shook his head. "No, it's not."

"What's the problem?"

"I-" he sighed. "Do you think it was a good idea to expand the Titans?"

"I dunno. It made sense, I suppose. Why? Do you think it wasn't?"

"No, no, that's not it. I like all of the new members, and what they bring to the team, but…" He looked around the room to Hot Spot. "… I just feel like I'm taking everyone away from what they're used to. I mean, you and Hot Spot were doing fine without being a member of the Titans. We only gave out those communicators so that you would all be safe."

"And we are."

Robin smiled slightly. "You call _this _safe?" he said, gesturing to the ship around him. Argent smiled back, and Robin sighed.

"It's not just the other members. My friends… we're not together as much as I'd like. We're always being split up, accompanying other, newer Titans on missions all round the globe. And, the five of us… we're a good team. We've been working together for so long, it just feels… incomplete without them."

"You're thinking of disbanding the Titans? The bigger version, I mean."

Robin shook his head vehemently. "I would call it a disbanding. I was more thinking of just… letting everyone go about their business. Between all of us, we pretty much have the entire planet covered anyway." He shrugged, letting out a deep breath. "I don't know. Maybe it isn't such a good idea. Maybe it's just me worrying about Starfire. And Red Star, of course," he added quickly.

Argent smiled fondly. "Of course."

A yawn from behind her attracted the attention of both of the Titans. Hot Spot stretched mightily as he made his way over to them.

"Aren't we there yet?"

"Hey, this is as fast as my baby can go. You want it to got faster, you're welcome to get out and push," Gnaww responded quickly, the pride in his ship evident in his voice.

Shaking his head, the Moroccan hero turned towards Robin and Argent. "So what have you guys been up to?"

"Oh, you know. Just talking about stuff," Argent replied nonchalantly, sending a knowing look at Robin. He just smiled.

Seeing the quick silent exchange between the two, Hot Spot just sighed.

"You Titans are weird, you know that?"

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Blackfire entered her sister's darkened cell and wrinkled her nose at the smell that came forth. As the light from outside the room spread across the room, it became clear where the smell was coming from.

It was Starfire's burnt flesh.

Burns ran the lengths of her arms and her exposed stomach, and although there were no cuts or tears in her clothing, Blackfire knew that she had been burnt beneath the clothing as well. She looked over and saw the machine responsible, grimacing at the memories it induced of the Psions torture of both her and Starfire. They used it to continually subject herself and Starfire to tests on how much damage their newly acquired powers would allow their bodies to take.

Usually, it didn't cause such damage, but in conjunction with the fluid that was being pumped through Starfire's veins, it had burnt Starfire's skin almost beyond recognition, as well as subjecting her to pain that Blackfire could only imagine. She walked over to her sister and reached out for her face, pausing for a moment before continuing.

_What are you doing? This… **thing** banished you from you home world! Stole the love of your people from you! And here you are, feeling sorry for her. She deserved everything that happened to her… that you did to her. You betrayed her to the Citadel, along with the rest of your people. She deserved that. You tried to frame her for all of your crimes. She deserved that too. You tried to force her to marry Glgrdsklechhh. All of it, she deserved._

Blackfire stroked the side of her sister's face.

_She deserved this, too._

She closed her eyes.

_And yet she forgave you for everything. She'll probably forgive you for this, too. Just because you're her sister. She knows everything that you did to her, and still…_

The raven haired Tamaranian shook her head. Starfire groaned in pain, and Blackfire looked away.

_Why are you looking away? This is what you wanted, isn't it?_

She put her hands over her ears.

_**Isn't it?**_

The noise of weapons fire shook her from her thoughts. She walked out of the cell, looking at the two Gordanian guards as she went.

"What's going on?"

Either they didn't hear her, or they were purposely ignoring her. A sudden explosion rocked the ground beneath them, and they stumbled. One Gordanian looked to the other.

"What was _that_?"

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Val-Yor ground his teeth as his ship, now a flaming ball of fire, collided with the bottom of the Citadel's fortress. He closed his eyes and put his head down, acting out of some kind of respect for the vessel.

Red Star frowned. They had been forced to abandon the ship after it came under heavy fire and take cover in the forest that surrounded the fortress. But not before Val-Yor put the ship on a collision course with the base of the fortress, eliminating its most powerful weapons. The Russian hero considered the truly pained expression on his companion's face. He wondered what the appropriate response would be. Val-Yor had earlier expressed his distaste in apologies, but he didn't want to be so cold as to simply ignore it. Hesitantly, he put his hand on the alien hero's shoulder. Much to his surprise, Val-Yor didn't shrug the hand off.

"Come. We have to go," Red Star said simply.

Looking up at him, Val-Yor nodded, his face grim with determination. They crouched on the ground and pushed off, flying as fast as they could manage towards the fortress, their chests almost grazing the ground beneath them as they flew. Using years of honed training and experience, they expertly dodged the laser blasts and missiles aimed at them, nimbly twirling and darting from left to right as the ground exploded around them.

Red Star moved to his right to avoid an approaching missile. As it passed him, it suddenly turned and began pursuing him. He grit his teeth as he tried his utmost to shake off the missile, pulling off impressive loops and whirls in his attempt.

Suddenly, the missile exploded behind him. He looked over at Val-Yor, and saw his eyes glowing red from having recently used his eye beams. He nodded at Red Star and continued on to the fortress, which was now directly in front of them.

Bringing back his fist, Val-Yor smashed through the wall, and the two entered. Red Star turned to him.

"Which way?"

Val-Yor frowned as he tried to remember. "From what I saw of the sensor readouts before we were attacked…"

He pointed to his left. "…that way."

Before they could even take a step in the right direction, Gordanians began pouring out of a doorway behind them, taking aim with their energy staffs. Red Star looked over to Val-Yor.

"You find Starfire. I will hold them here."

"Are you crazy? There's no way you can take this many."

"You would be surprised at what I can do. Go, now."

Reluctantly, Val-Yor turned and headed for the stairway leading to the upper levels.

"Surrender."

Red Star turned to look at the Gordanians, cautiously making their way forward.

"There is perhaps something you should know about me," Red Star said, standing to his full height. "You see, my powers require a certain amount of control and concentration to keep in check."

The Gordanians paused in their advance.

"I have recently learned to let these powers flow freely… to become me. But that does not mean that I do not have to exercise some kind of control; a control that I do not like to lose. But now, I am required to stop you at whatever cost is necessary," Red Star continued, his voice rising in anger.

"I will not allow you to keep my friend against her will." Red Star closed his eyes as he allowed the energy to build up inside him, the words of a friend echoing through his mind.

_The greater the struggle against your powers, the more it resists. Embrace what you have inside; let it become you… and you will find what you were meant to be._

The Gordanians never even had a chance to move.

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Blackfire almost fell to the ground when the shockwave from Red Star's attack arrived. The Gordanians were similarly disoriented, or they would have certainly noticed Val-Yor approaching from their right.

The hero leapt forward, his leg extended outward. His foot collided with the first Gordanian's chest, sending back and into the second. The pair skidded across the floor and ground to an eventual halt.

Grunting in annoyance and pain, the two gradually pulled themselves to their feet, baring their teeth angrily. Val-Yor leapt forward yet again, slamming his fist into the first Gordanian's mouth, shattering said teeth and sending the Gordanian into unconsciousness.

The second swung its fist at Val-Yor's head, only to swipe fruitlessly at air as Val-Yor ducked, responding with an uppercut that sent the Gordanian vertically up and through the roof.

Nodding in satisfaction, Val-Yor turned to the closed cell door and paused as he spotted Blackfire.

She hesitated as she looked at the hero, the two of them staring silently at one another. Neither of their expressions betrayed any of the emotions broiling inside them.

Val-Yor, whose beliefs and attitude had been thrown upside down by Red Star's actions.

Blackfire, who was beginning to see her sister as just that; her sister, and was feeling the guilt of all she had done to her.

Blackfire reached over and pushed the open button on the cell. Val-Yor, keeping his eyes on the black haired Tamaranian for one moment more, turned and walked into the cell, wincing as he saw Starfire's state.

With a delicate touch that surprised even him, he unhooked Starfire from the machinery that held her captive, putting her barely conscious form over his shoulder. He turned and left the cell. Blackfire was gone when he stepped out into the corridor. Looking left and right, he could see no trace of her.

"Starfire!"

Red Star approached from the other end of the corridor, his joy at finding his friend cut short by his concern for her. He seemed out of breath, but Val-Yor decided to leave it alone for the moment. Red Star gently took Starfire from Val-Yor's arms, looking down at the Tamaranian in despair.

"Is she all right?"

"Tamaranians are tough; she'll be fine."

He looked over at Red Star, and nodded to the corridor. "Come on. Let's get out of here."

The two smashed their way down to the way they came in, and Val-Yor's eyes nearly popped from their sockets as he saw the remains of the room. He looked over at his companion disbelievingly, who was humbly making his way out of the fortress.

"What the hell kind of power do you have, anyway?"

Red Star paused, his back to Val-Yor as he stood next to the gaping hole in the wall. "The worst kind."

With a cocked eyebrow, Val-Yor looked around the charred remains of the room again.

"Do you have any idea how we're going to get off this rock?"

Red Star sighed. "We could steal one of their ships."

Val-Yor shook his head. "Wouldn't work. The Gordanians and the Citadel clones use a DNA recognition system for their ships. There's no way we could use it."

Red Star cautiously looked through the hole in the wall, and froze as he spotted something.

"I have another idea," he said, and Val-Yor followed Red Star's gaze to another ship coming towards the fortress. Red Star turned to Val-Yor. "Is that a Gordanian or Citadel ship?"

Val-Yor shook his head. "Whatever it is, it looks like a pile of junk."

"A pile of junk that can get us off this planet."

The weapons fire started up again as the small ship came under fire. Val-Yor grunted in interest.

"Looks like they're not invited, either."

"We have to keep the ship safe."

Val-Yor nodded. "Then let's get to it."

Red Star cast a concerned glance down at Starfire.

"I'll take care of most of them. Just do what you can without putting her in danger," Val-Yor said, avoiding Red Star's confused gaze. Pushing off from the ground, Val-Yor shot out and around the fortress, setting about destroying its anti-air weapons.

Pausing for only a moment, Red Star quickly joined him, being careful to keep Starfire safe from the weapons fire.

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"This is crazy this is crazy this is crazy this is crazy…"

Robin looked over at the panicking rat creature in annoyance. All things considered, he was doing quite well, albeit accidentally. The fact that someone was destroying the weapon placements on the fortress was helping, too. Robin turned to his two team-mates.

"All right. Argent, I want you to get out there and help whoever is destroying those weapons. Hot Spot, as soon as we land, I want you to blast as fast as you can to the fortress and try to find Starfire and Red Star. I'll stay with the ship and Gnaww."

"Hey, I'm trustworthy! I don't need watching!"

Hot Spot leaned over to the side to see around Robin and at the rat creature. "Uh, yeah, you do."

Gnaww grumbled some alien expletives, and Hot Spot smiled. Robin, meanwhile, was looking as determined as ever.

"Don't waste time fighting guards. If you can get around them instead of fighting them, then do it. As soon as you've found Starfire and Red Star, get out of there as fast as you can."

Hot Spot nodded. "Right."

"Uh… shouldn't the rat thing be flying the ship?" Argent asked, a hint of panic setting into her voice.

Robin whirled on his heel, his eyes wide with alarm as he saw the empty pilot seat. Hot Spot clenched his jaw and looked around the bridge, seeing the tip of Gnaww's tail disappear around the corner into a corridor.

"Hey! Get back here!" he yelled, powering up as he quickly pursued.

The Boy Wonder leapt into the chair, looking through the tiny screen in front of him in an attempt to navigate the ship to a smooth landing.

"Argent! Can you find some way to bring us in for a smooth landing?"

She frowned. "I suppose we'll find out, won't we?"

And with that, she flew out of the bridge and to the airlock, making her way outside. Struggling to keep up with the quickly descending ship, Argent rubbed her hands together and emitted red energy from her fingertips, creating a slide of sorts for the ship to cruise along on. She pulled out her communicator.

"Argent to Robin! It would _really _help if you could turn off the engines!"

"_Uh… will do."_

Robin closed the communicator. "If I can figure out how…"

Meanwhile, Hot Spot was stalking through the cargo bay, having lost Gnaww somewhere in the darkness.

"Why'd you do it, you little rat?"

"Hey, you guys are worth big bucks to the Citadel. I figured I could make a sale."

The darkness and the echoing walls didn't help Hot Spot to find him any faster.

"You really are a rat, aren't you?"

There was no response. Hot Spot heard a grunting coming from above him, and looked up in time to see Gnaww pushing a particularly heavy looking crate from the top of a stack. Nimbly jumping away as it crashed the ground, he looked up to see Gnaww retreating. Using his powers as a boost, he shot up and over the crates, landing in front of the rat as he clambered down the stack of crates.

"Okay, now you're going to go back to the bridge and land this piece of junk. Got that?"

At that moment on the bridge, Robin was scowling in frustration. "How are you supposed to turn this thing off…?"

Growling, Robin kicked the control panel that showed the engine readouts as hard as he could. A loud noise followed as the engines cut out suddenly, jerking Robin back and forth in his chair violently.

In the cargo bay, the sudden jerk knocked Hot Spot off his feet and to the ground. He heard Gnaww yelp, and quickly leapt to his feet. His shoulders dropped as he saw that the rat-like alien had managed to knock himself out on a protruding pipe. Sighing, Hot Spot grabbed him by the leg and dragged him towards the bridge.

Argent struggled to keep the ship stable as it descended rapidly towards the ground, but she somehow managed it. She focused as much as she could on the shape she was creating, hoping that that would help keep it stable enough for the ship to land gracefully.

Or at least as close to gracefully as she could manage.

Gradually, she altered the gradient of the slide until the ship was horizontal as it reached the ground.

"Okay, lads. I hope you're ready for this," she said, though it was more to herself than to her team-mates. Removing the red energy beneath the ship, she winced as it slammed to the ground with an ear-piercing groan, metal twisting and struggling to stay one shape as its momentum dragged the ship along the ground. Gradually, the ship came to a halt, leaving a trench behind it that spewed a cloud of dust and smoke forth as though it were breathing.

Argent allowed herself some deep breaths as she landed on the ground, the ship only slightly visible on the horizon from where she was stood. Putting her hands on her knees, she struggled to stay on her feet. That little stunt had all but exhausted her. A loud footstep behind her interrupted her brief respite.

She barely had a chance to turn around before she was knocked into unconsciousness.

Robin grunted as he pushed the heavy metal door open. After quickly surmising the situation and coming to the conclusion that they were in no immediate danger, he whipped out his communicator.

"Argent? Are you all right?"

Static was the only reply. Hot Spot frowned concernedly over Robin's shoulder.

"Argent? This is Robin, do you read?"

"She cannot hear you."

The two Titans turned to see the First Citadelian stood before them, tossing an unconscious Argent to the ground before them. Hot Spot and Robin readied themselves.

"You," he said, pointing to Robin. The Boy Wonder pulled out his staff and whirled it above his head skilfully before adopting a combat ready pose once again.

"You were the leader. The one who freed my slave."

"Starfire was nobody's slave."

"That is where you are wrong. She is my property, to do with whatever I please. You had no right to take her. And for doing so, I will deal with you personally." He looked over at Hot Spot. "You, I am not concerned with. You may go."

Hot Spot fired up his hands. "Not gonna happen."

The hulking blue creature tilted his head in a slight shrug. "As you wish."

Without warning, he charged forward, fists raised.

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(A/N: A bit of a cliff-hanger, but hey – I've got to keep you coming back for more somehow.

Next chapter: It's everyone versus the First Citadelian as the Titans are finally reunited with one another. But will even their combined strength by enough to defeat the Psion experiment gone wrong?

Anyhow, reviews be groovy.)


	8. Class Reunion

Disclaimer: I don't own _Teen Titans._

_**A Strange Business**_

_**Chapter Eight: Class Reunion**_

Hot Spot had never seen anyone so big. He had seen bulky people like Cyborg and Red Star before, but even they were nothing compared to the blue alien stood before him. He dared not glance over at Robin, for fear that the First Citadelian might take advantage and attack. Desperately trying to keep his breathing calm and level, Hot Spot began to power up, small balls of fire beginning to glow in his hands.

Robin felt the heat coming from Hot Spot, and resisted the urge to wipe the sweat from his brow that was more a result of the incredible anxiousness that was now gripping him. Starfire had only briefly mentioned the First Citadelian to him before, and had been too horrified at the thought to continue.

This did not bode well for their chances. Robin's eye twitched. His hands were getting clammy beneath his gloves. He silently thanked Bruce for giving him gloves, grateful that the staff he held in his hands wouldn't slip out at an inopportune moment. There wasn't anything around that the huge alien could use as a weapon. The Citadel's fortress was situated in the middle of a dry, rocky desert, with large outcroppings of rock peppering its surface. Robin kept his eyes on the towering alien in front of him.

The First Citadelian considered the two teenage heroes stood before him. The pale skinned girl had been easily dispatched, her guard down after being flung away from the crashing ship. The one wearing the mask had the poise of a warrior, but looked weak. The First Citadelian knew from reports, however, that this 'Robin' should never be underestimated simply because he was human. He had no idea who the glowing one was, only that he had the power of heat at his disposal.

The First Citadelian waited.

Hot Spot clenched his jaw.

Robin went first.

The Boy Wonder leapt forward with a cry, holding his staff above his head and bringing it down on his opponent's head. The blue alien grabbed his staff with his right hand and, with an effortless flick of his wrist, tossed Robin far away over the crashed ship.

Thrusting his hands forward, Hot Spot let loose a blast of white hot flames. The First Citadelian raised his left forearm, using it to block the blast. With his body shielded from the heat, he made his way forward, bringing his right fist back. Hot Spot's eyes widened as the blue alien made his way over and swung his fist down at him.

Stopping his barrage of flames and using honed acrobatic skills, Hot Spot leapt up, avoiding the blow. He grabbed onto the alien's shoulder and flipped over onto the other side, landing deftly on his feet. The First Citadelian quickly swung his left arm around and caught Hot Spot in the chest as he landed, sending him flying away and skidding across the ground into large outcropping of rock. His head hit the rock with a resounding thud, knocking him unconscious, and his glowing form faded.

Smirking, the large blue alien made his way over to the unconscious Hot Spot, his intention clear. He suddenly came to a halt, and his smirk vanished. Looking down, he saw red energy clamped around his ankle, and followed the source of the energy to the struggling Argent, who was lying on her front. The bruise on her forehead, coupled with her pained grunts, told the Citadelian that she was barely holding onto consciousness, let alone him.

His smirk quickly returning, he swiped down at the red energy, causing it to disappear with a flash. Argent yelled in pain, and was quickly out once again. Not wanting to be distracted again, he made his way over Argent, raising both fists above his head, ready to deliver a crushing blow.

"Hey! Ugly!"

The blue alien looked up in time to see Val-Yor's fist collide with his face, causing him to stumble back. Another left hook pushed the Citadelian further back, and away from Argent. Having recovered from the initial shock of the attack, the towering alien grabbed Val-Yor's next blow in an iron grip.

"No-one has made me stumble before. It will not happen again."

Quickly turning, the Citadelian slammed Val-Yor into the ground face down, creating a huge indentation in its dry, rocky surface. He turned again, and repeated the process, this time slamming him onto his back. Smirking, he tossed the intergalactic hero like a human tossing a pebble across water, sending the hero bouncing along the ground until he skidded to a halt.

Red Star gently set down Starfire behind the space ship, and turned to the battle at hand.

Val-Yor struggled up from the ground with a moan of pain, just managing to get up on all fours. The Citadelian leapt up into the air, his trajectory sending him down to land on Val-Yor. A green blur slammed into him before he could reach the hero, pushing him at great speeds into a mesa of rock.

Cracks spread across the huge rock from the impact, sending a cloud of dust in all directions. The Citadelian looked down through the cloud to see Red Star pinning him to the rock, delivering blow after blow to his gut. Gritting his teeth from the pain of the vicious attack, the blue alien brought his hands out and slammed them onto either side of Red Star's head.

The Russian hero quickly halted his assault, yelling in pain as his attack faltered. The Citadelian knotted his hands together and slammed them down on Red Star's head, crushing him into the ground. Grabbing him by the material of his coat, the blue alien lifted him up, Red Star still struggling in his grasp. The Citadelian slammed his fist into the Russian hero, sending him flying back in a straight line and into Val-Yor, who had only just gotten to his feet.

The two skidded to a halt and gradually got to their feet. Looking up, they saw the Citadelian approaching, taking his time as he made his way over to them.

"He's pretty tough," Val-Yor admitted, his breathing heavy.

"I take it our chances are low," Red Star said simply.

"Very."

Red Star was silent for a moment. "Then let us not keep him waiting."

Val-Yor smirked, and they rushed forward.

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Robin struggled back to the ship, having managed to turn his brief flight into a falling roll. Painful, but effective. His left arm had been completely wrecked by the landing, however, now covered in stinging cuts and bruises while his wrist was twisted at an angle that could only be described as 'nasty'.

His eyes widened beneath his mask as he reached the ship. There, lying on the ground, slowly getting up…

"Starfire!"

The Tamaranian looked over at him groggily, her smile still evident. "Robin?"

His injuries quickly forgotten, the Boy Wonder ran as fast as he could to the orange skinned teen, the grin on his face so big he thought his face might break. As he reached her, he threw his arms around her, eliciting a surprised 'eep' from the Tamaranian.

"I thought you were-! I mean, I felt you were-! You're all right!" he said, his words barely registering in his mind. He brought his head back to look her in the eyes. "What happened? I-"

He stopped as he saw the bruises and burns that littered her skin. His expression darkened. "What happened to you?"

His teeth were now pushed together so tightly, they could have shattered. "Did _he _do this to you?" he said, nodding over at the other side of the ship, where the sounds of battle could be heard.

Starfire's head lolled around as though she couldn't hold up the weight of her head. "I… Blackfire was… I…"

Robin eased her down to the ground. "Just rest. I'll get us out of here," he said soothingly, and Starfire nodded placidly, her eyes closing as she rested back.

Before quickly checking that Starfire was in fact breathing, he made his way around the ship, no longer caring about his injuries. He didn't even notice that Starfire's wounds were healing and fading away as he left.

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Hot Spot hauled himself to his feet, rubbing the back of his head. He groaned and looked up in a mild surprise when he heard Robin's battle cry from across the rocky plain that had become their battlefield.

Val-Yor was pulling himself out of a particularly large crater in the ground as Red Star had his arms firmly around the First Citadelian's neck, while Robin threw all manner of weaponry at his blue, scaly hide.

A moan from the ship drew Hot Spot's attention, and the Moroccan hero looked over in time to see Gnaww stumbling from the open doorway.

"Oooh… where the hell-?"

His eyes bulged as he saw the battle going on before him. Using the better part of valour, he tip-toed backwards towards the ship. Hot Spot powered up and blasted his way over to the rat like alien. Before Gnaww could even move, Hot Spot had grabbed his jacket.

"Where're you going, buddy?"

"I was just… going to fix the ship! Yeah!" he suggested, laughing nervously.

Hot Spot cocked an eyebrow. "Is that right? You wouldn't be planning on leaving without us, would you?"

"No, I uh-"

They were interrupted by Red Star landing abruptly next to them, his jacket smoking slightly. He turned to them, and nodded a greeting before shooting back into battle. Hot Spot turned his attention back to Gnaww, poking him in the chest with his finger.

"Listen up, rat face. You go and fix this ship as fast as you can, but if you try to pull anything, I promise you will live to regret it. You got me?"

Gnaww nodded quickly. "Oh yeah. Got it got it got it."

"Good. Go."

Gnaww turned and ran into the ship, and Hot Spot turned to the battle, preparing himself to leap in. Robin landed on his feet next to him, skidding back slightly. Hot Spot's attention was immediately drawn to Robin's twisted wrist.

"Are you okay?"

"It's fine," he grunted, pulling out several freeze discs from his belt, one between each finger.

"Uh… right. Gnaww's fixing the ship," Hot Spot said, pointing back to the ship with his thumb.

"Good. Because we're not going to beat this guy easily."

Hot Spot sighed. "Guess we should get to it then, huh?"

Robin nodded and charged forward. Hot Spot ran next to him, firing a white hot blast of fire at the ground beneath the Citadelian's feet, causing it to melt away as though it were nothing. The blue alien sank down to his waist in the molten rock. Robin threw his freeze discs at the liquid ground that surrounded the alien's legs, solidifying it instantly.

Val-Yor smirked and cracked his knuckles, charging forward and delivering a vicious series of blows to the First Citadelian's head, his body held in place by the solidified molten rock below him. Red Star quickly got on board with Val-Yor's strategy, delivering blow after blow to the towering blue alien.

Roaring in frustration, the Citadelian grabbed Red Star and brought him over his head and on top of Val-Yor, slamming them both into the ground. The rocky surface was torn up by the impact, freeing the blue alien's leg. Smirking in an almost feral way, he slammed his fists down and freed his other leg, going into a flying leap towards Hot Spot and Robin. The two dodged out of the way as the large blue alien landed.

The ground spiked up at the impact of the Citadelian's landing, tossing them both up in the air. The blue alien turned and leapt into the air after them.

With his wrist twisted like it was, Robin struggled to move in the air as the alien approached him. The Citadelian swatted him down, slamming him painfully into the ground. Hot Spot could only look on as he twisted in mid air, trying to land on his feet. Robin groaned in semi-consciousness on the ground, not even noticing the long shadow cast by his enemy.

"You are not so strong. I do not understand why the Gordanians had such trouble with you on Earth."

"I had good friends," Robin spat through gritted teeth. He reached into his belt and pulled out his grappling hook, firing at the alien's arm. It embedded itself in his skin, causing him to yell out in pain. Using the moment of distraction, Robin wrapped the cable around his arm and slid between the Citadelian's legs, running as fast as he could as he got to his feet.

The blue alien's arm was pulled down and through the gap between his legs, almost flipping him head over heels onto his back. Hot Spot, not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, fired as much heat as he could at the Citadelian's exposed rear end, blasting him forward as Robin released his grip on the cable. The blue alien skidded face down along the ground before coming to a halt.

He pushed himself to his feet and turned to face them, the roar that emerged from him making the ground shake.

"You… DARE?"

Hot Spot smirked, though he had no idea where this courage was coming from. "I dunno, buddy. Your butt seems kinda happy about it."

Turning around to look at the mentioned piece of anatomy, The Citadelian saw that Hot Spot had burnt the outline of a happy face with his blast.

Robin tried to hold back his smile, and the Citadelian's roar exceeded anything that had come before. Slamming his fist into the ground, he sent a shockwave of dust and grit towards the Moroccan hero, dousing his heated form and tossing him into the ship behind him headfirst.

The alien leapt forward feet first, landing with an echoing crack on Hot Spot. He screamed in pain as the Citadelian smirked.

"You do not mock me."

Suddenly, two pairs of arms grabbed his, pulling him back and pinning him to the ground. He grit his teeth as he saw Val-Yor and Red Star, recovered from the alien's earlier attack. With a jerk of his arm, he tossed Val-Yor away, and grabbed onto Red Star with both arms, standing and holding him in a bear hug.

Robin leapt forward and tried his utmost to distract him, throwing every weapon he had left at the towering alien's blue hide. After using up his weapons, he resorted to using his fists and feet. He yelled in pain as he broke his hand on the alien's skin.

Ignorant of the Boy Wonder's attack, the Citadelian just smirked, and squeezed. Red Star screamed as his entire body was compressed together, and the blue alien released him, letting him collapse to the ground.

Finally noticing Robin, the Citadelian turned and delivered an uppercut to the already struggling Robin's chin, hurling him back across the desert floor.

A silver blur slammed into him at a downward angle, slamming him into the ground. Val-Yor floated above the cloud of dust that came from the sudden impact, his usual shining appearance tarnished with dark green blood and bruises, wincing as he realised he had broken a few ribs at some point during the battle. He wasn't accustomed to becoming this injured in battle.

The Citadelian leapt forth from the cloud and grabbed Val-Yor, bringing him back down to the ground with him. Pinning him to the floor, he began slamming his fists as hard as he could into the intergalactic hero, intent on breaking every bone in his body. Val-Yor attempted to fight back, but even his considerable strength couldn't match the blue alien's enraged attack.

Robin could only watch as Val-Yor was beaten to a bloody pulp. He pushed himself up with his one good arm, gradually bringing his knee up so that his foot could touch the ground. Slowly and painfully, he pulled up the other knee, and made the long journey to standing upright.

Ignoring the intense pain in his arm and hand, he pushed himself up as quickly as he could, almost bouncing up. He stumbled slightly, feeling as though his neck would fall off at any time.

The pounding noise coming from the Citadelian's punches stopped. Robin heard the thudding of the alien's footsteps as he trudged over. Robin drearily looked up as he was engulfed in the shadow of the First Citadelian.

"Look at you. You can barely stand," he said derisively.

"I… won't quit," Robin breathed, his eyes blurring in and out of focus.

The blue alien sneered and crouched, jabbing a fist into Robin's gut. The Boy Wonder fell to his knees, coughing blood. The towering alien grabbed him by the hair and pulled him up, pulling a small knife from somewhere on his body.

"You are weak. You are nothing." He leaned closer to his ear, so much so that Robin could feel his sickly, warm breath on his face. "And she… _she_ is mine."

Robin clenched his jaw, anger boiling in his blood. He tried to move, to even clench a fist, but that would have taken more energy than he could muster.

The Citadelian brought back the knife, preparing to bring it around in a swipe that would decapitate the young hero. A bright blast of green energy flared at his back, and he roared in pain, dropping Robin ungraciously to the ground. He turned to see the nearly recovered Starfire floating before him, eyes and hand aglow with green energy.

"Do. Not. Touch him."

He smirked. "I don't know how you managed to shake off the effects of the drug, but it doesn't matter."

"My people can withstand hostile conditions," she said, glancing over at the beaten form of Val-Yor. "…because we heal quickly. You will leave my friends alone."

"If you would just come and be my slave once again, I would."

"No. You would not."

Starfire sped forward, slamming into the blue alien at an upward angle, taking him up into the air with her. He tried to swipe at her with his arm. Using her lithe form, Starfire easily dodged above the blow, grabbing onto his arm and tossing him down to the ground in one smooth motion. He crashed into the ground with a loud bang, sending a cloud of dust into the air.

Starfire, not taking a moment to rest, began firing starbolt after starbolt into the cloud, all the while firing her eyebeams continuously.

Robin looked at her in amazement. He rarely saw her being so vicious, but to see it now… it gave him a glimmer of hope. His hopeful demeanour fell as he saw the Citadelian, seemingly unaffected by the starbolts, leaping out of the cloud and towards her. Grabbing her ankles with his large hand, he brought her back down to the ground, slamming her into the rocky surface as he had done to Val-Yor. He lifted his leg and slammed it down onto the Tamaranian, slamming it down again and again until there was no resistance from her.

There was a deadening silence as he stepped back from the crater, and Robin felt despair grip him. He wanted to shout her name, to get up and run over there, to protect her from that monster. But he couldn't even move.

"You see?" the blue alien gloated. "You cannot hope to match me."

"That was not my plan," Starfire said, and Robin smiled in pure joy. He felt a gust of strong wind as Red Star flew over him, flying towards the Citadelian with such force Robin could have sworn he heard a boom when the Russian hero collided with the alien.

Red Star shot vertically up into the sky with his opponent, taking him further and further away, until Robin could barely see him. A blinding burst of red light followed, and Robin turned his head away to shield himself from the throbbing light.

Robin heard a low humming noise coming from Gnaww's crashed ship, and turned to see the ship coming to life before him. He felt Starfire's arm gently but swiftly pick him up and take him towards the ship, and he watched the now barely conscious Argent making her way to the ship also, carrying Hot Spot on a gurney of red energy. Starfire settled Robin down in the ship, and turned to go back outside.

"Starfire… where…?"

"Val-Yor is still out there."

Before Robin could protest further, Starfire was out of the doorway and flying towards Val-Yor. The Boy Wonder felt the ship rumble beneath him, and turned to see Gnaww taking the ship up.

"We can't go yet… Starfire-"

"-is gonna have to look after herself. I don't care about her, and you guys aren't in any condition to stop me."

Robin clenched his jaw, and smiled as he saw Argent making her way over to the rat-like creature, using her red energy to tie his hands together.

"You move," she said, taking a breath in-between, "and I'll chop 'em off."

Gnaww seemed to agree with this.

Starfire hovered on board, laying Val-Yor to the ground as gently as she had Robin. She nodded at Argent, who turned to Gnaww.

"Go!"

Robin looked up at Starfire as the door closed, and the ship lurched into action, flying up into the atmosphere. The low hum of the ships engines was almost soothing after the previous chaos, even dulling the pain from his injuries.

"What about… Red Star?"

"He said he will meet us in orbit."

Robin nodded. "Are you all right?"

"I will be fine. Tamaranians heal quickly."

He smiled. "I'm… glad you're okay. For a minute I thought you were…" he looked away. "I _felt _that you were…"

She cocked her head to the side. "You felt it?"

"I just… _felt it _in my… bones, I guess."

Starfire's eyes lit up, but Robin couldn't begin to guess why. She wrapped him up in a patented Starfire hug, and Robin had never felt more grateful to have his ribs crushed.

"I am also glad you were not hurt," she said softly over his shoulder.

Argent looked over at the pair from where she stood behind Gnaww, her expression unreadable.

"We're out of the planet's atmosphere," Gnaww said, the relief in his voice palpable.

Robin and Starfire disengaged from one another, and the Titan leader looked over at him. "Stop here; we need to pick up Red Star."

"What? Are you crazy? I-" He glanced over at Argent. "-I'm going to stop the ship now!" he said, not once changing his tone of voice.

Robin smiled and nodded at Argent. "Argent; help Red Star get inside. He must be pretty tired after using that much energy."

The pale British Titan walked over to the inner airlock door and opened it, stepping into it. Just as she was about to encase her self in red energy to protect herself from the coming vacuum, Red Star came hurtling through the outer airlock door, slamming Argent through the open doorway and into the wall, knocking her unconscious.

Starfire, Robin and Gnaww looked around to see the charred and blackened form of the First Citadelian clambering through the airlock, apparently oblivious to the air rushing out through the open doorway.

The Boy Wonder quickly grabbed Hot Spot to prevent him being sucked out, as Starfire did for Val-Yor. She tossed him into another room, and quickly did the same for the others before the Citadelian grabbed her and slammed her into the deck plating.

Robin, using every last bit of strength he had, leapt forward and kicked him in the back of the head, almost being sucked out into space himself. Managing to latch on to the airlock doorway, Robin once again mentally thanked Batman for giving him gloves with grips. Pulling himself up with his one arm, he managed to yank himself out of the doorway, putting his back to the wall.

The room was running out of air, and he and Gnaww seemed to be the only ones affected by it. Reaching into his belt, he gnashed his teeth as he realised he had used everything. His eyes widened beneath his mask as he realised something; the electrical shock security system he had put in place on the belt.

Starfire, meanwhile, was ducking and sidestepping the Citadelian's enraged blows, although her strength was quickly faltering. She ducked another blow to the head, and let loose with her eye beams and a barrage if starbolts. The towering blue alien just growled and stumbled back.

He stepped forward, his fist drawn back, only to find that Robin had latched his belt around his wrist, using the electrical security system to send volts of thrashing electricity through his arm. Although it was only a distraction for the Citadelian, it was enough for Starfire to take advantage of. Kicking off from the wall, she shot towards the blue alien, slamming into him as hard as she could, sending him out through the airlock as Robin leapt away from him.

Quickly reaching out, the Citadelian grabbed onto Starfire's ankle, yanking her through the doorway with her. Robin grabbed on to her hand, being pulled along the chain until he reached the airlock, putting both legs on either side of the doorway, and pulling with all the strength he could muster with his one arm.

Feeling his grip slipping, Robin grit his teeth and used his other arm to grab on to Starfire's hand, his scream almost inaudible in the vacuum of space. White dots danced around his vision as his body called out for oxygen.

Starfire looked down at the First Citadelian, hate burning in her eyes as he opened his mouth to speak.

"You are my slave! You are nothing! You are-"

He was interrupted by a starbolt to the mouth, knocking him back and away into space, his trajectory taking him into a slow and painful re-entry through the atmosphere of his planet. Starfire pulled herself up through the airlock, managing to yank Robin away from the open doorway.

She pushed a button on the control panel next to the airlock, causing the inner door to close. The hiss of oxygen coming through the vents filled the room, and Robin and Gnaww gasped for air.

Starfire crouched, looking down at the gasping Boy Wonder.

"Perhaps we can now go home?"

Robin smiled. "I… think… we can… arrange that. Gnaww?"

The rat-creature groaned. "Ah, for the love of… gimme a minute… I almost died…"

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The First Citadelian sat down in his throne, having been swiftly rescued by one of his ships. One of his personal aides entered.

"Sir, should we not go after the Tamaranian?"

He shook his head. "She is too much trouble, especially with those friends of hers. There are too many anomalous creatures on that planet Earth to pursue, and she will not fall for the same trick twice. Besides, we have more pressing matters to attend to, isn't that right?"

"Yes, sir. The Gordanians are requesting assistance against the Thanagarians; they are becoming more troublesome as the days go by, apparently."

He waved a dismissive hand. "Very well. Give them all the assistance they need."

"Very good, sir."

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Starfire looked over at the shining hero sceptically. "Blackfire?" she said, temporarily pausing her bandaging of Robin's wounds.

Red Star leaned forward in his chair. "Why did you not tell me of this?"

"It wasn't important at the time," Val-Yor said, shrugging. He was stood next to Gnaww, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.

Hot Spot was sat on the floor at the far end of the bridge, his back to the wall. Argent came in and sat down next to him.

"You feelin' all right?"

He smiled, rubbing his chest. "Few cracked ribs never hurt anyone." He winced and hissed through his teeth as he touched a sore spot. "Though it seems I'm the first…"

Argent laughed quietly, and looked over at the three Titans who were bickering with Val-Yor.

"What's up with them?" Hot Spot asked, nodding in their direction.

"Something about Starfire's sister."

"She has a sister?"

She shrugged. "Apparently."

"Who's the silver guy?"

"No idea. But they don't seem to like him, do they?"

Hot Spot sighed. "Y'know what?"

"What?"

"I'm finding it so hard to care about anything else but getting home right now. How about you?"

She grinned. "Pretty much the same." She looked over at Robin and Starfire, who had begun privately talking to each other.

"They're pretty serious about each other, aren't they?"

"They always seem it, yeah." Hot Spot tilted his head forward to look at her expression. "You okay?"

She turned back to him and smiled. "Fine."

"Good. Now be a good girl and go get me some lemonade."

She playfully hit him in the arm, and the two laughed.

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As she floated through the vast emptiness of space, Blackfire wondered where she would go next. She certainly didn't want to go to Tamaran or Earth; mostly because of the questions Starfire would ask her. Blackfire groaned at the thought.

_She'd probably think I actually **liked **her or something._

She didn't much feel like stealing anything or doing anything illegal right now. Maybe she would go and have a luxurious vacation somewhere. She smiled to herself.

_I think I deserve it._

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(A/N: Well… that was an interesting one to write. I think this beats out my 'Connections' story for the sheer amount of fighting. I'm hoping it wasn't too boring or hard to follow; I've tried to make the action as simplistic and fast as possible. I just watched the _Ultimate Avengers _movie, too, so I _may _have been influenced by the Hulk fight.

Next chapter: The Titans return home, making for one crowded Tower. Meanwhile, Robin makes a decision regarding the team…

Reviews Yum.)


	9. The Old Routine

Disclaimer: I don't own _Teen Titans._

_**A Strange Business**_

_**Chapter Nine: The Old Routine**_

As the odd collection of heroes stood on top of Titans Tower, Hot Spot found himself briefly wondering how the Titans had avoided falling off the side for so long. True, out of the original five, most of them could fly, swing away, or land without doing much damage, but with the increased number of Titans in the Tower, the Moroccan hero couldn't help but wonder if there had been some fatalities while he had been away. Especially since three kids were running around with a giant imaginary teddy bear with them.

Hot Spot still had trouble with that one.

Robin was stood ahead of him, his arm in a sling as he shook hands with Val-Yor. Hot Spot still had no idea who he was, nor why there was such tension between him and the Titans. He made a mental note to ask later.

"Thanks for your help," Robin said, although his face was anything but friendly.

Val-Yor just nodded and grunted. He glanced up at Red Star before turning his attention to Starfire.

"Don't expect me to come running to help you again."

She stared up at him determinedly. "You need not concern yourself."

Val-Yor borderline ignored her as he looked up at Red Star. The Russian soldier nodded.

"Goodbye," he said, his tone incomprehensible.

"Don't think I helped you because of what you did. I helped because I wanted to; nothing more, nothing less."

Starfire looked over at Red Star curiously, who merely nodded.

"Understood."

Val-Yor quickly turned and looked up at the small orange ship hovering above him. "Will this thing be able to get me home?"

Cyborg, who had joined them on the roof, made not effort to hide his distaste for the alien hero.

"It'll get you away from here and where you need to go."

"Fine."

Val-Yor floated up and opened the cockpit, deftly sliding inside. With one more cursory glance down at Red Star and the other Titans, he closed the cockpit and shot away, the small orange pod becoming smaller and smaller in the sky until it could no longer be seen. Hot Spot breathed a sigh of relief and turned to look at Argent.

"Is it just me, or is the air a bit thick here?"

"Just a little," Argent whispered back, using her thumb and forefinger to accentuate the point.

Hot Spot smiled and turned towards the door, making way downstairs. "Well," he said, stretching as he yawned. "I'm gonna get some sleep. I haven't had a chance to sleep since we landed."

Robin cleared his throat and Hot Spot looked over. "Uh, Hot Spot? It's only 2pm."

"Y'know what? I'm so beat right now, it doesn't matter. So I'm going to bed. Good nigh…" he smiled. "Good afternoon."

Robin smiled and offered a small wave. His gaze moved over to Argent, and he instantly felt a little uncomfortable. Argent smiled nervously.

"I uh… I think I'll get a bit of kip too."

Robin nodded, and Argent left. Robin turned back to Starfire and Red Star, who were in the middle of a discussion.

"Do not avoid the question, Red Star. What did he mean?"

"I…" Red Star's green eyes darted over to Robin and Cyborg, and Starfire followed his quick glance.

"Robin. Cyborg. Could you please give us some privacy?"

Slightly taken aback by the request, the Boy Wonder and Cyborg just blinked.

"Yeah… sure," Robin said, and both he and Cyborg made their way to the other side of the roof.

After making sure that they were out of earshot, Starfire turned back to Red Star. "There. _Now _will you tell me what Val-Yor meant by 'what you did'?"

Red Star sighed, an extremely troubled look on his face. "I… I am not sure how…"

"Simply tell me, Leonid."

The use of his real name seemed to push aside whatever reluctance he had, and the Russian hero sighed.

"I… he refused to help you. He constantly insulted you, calling you 'Troq' over and over again… so…"

"You attacked him," Starfire said, an element of wonder in her voice.

Red Star's head fell slightly in shame as Starfire sighed.

"Red Star… there is a _reason _I did not want you to attack him. He believes these bad things… _wrong_ things… about my people… and now your people. And the only way to disprove these misconceptions is to not act as he expects us to. To show him that we are not… 'Troqs'. And you-"

"It worked, did it not?"

"That is not the point, Leonid!" Starfire yelled, exasperated. Red Star flinched back slightly at the outburst, and Robin and Cyborg looked around at the raised volume of her voice.

She sighed. "Regardless of whether it 'worked' or not, what you did was wrong. Val-Yor will no doubt forever think of us as-"

"Why are you so concerned as to what he thinks of you? He is a racist, Starfire!"

"I know that, Leonid," Starfire replied, her teeth grating slightly. "I am not completely stupid. I am not concerned as to _his _opinion of us, but rather what his opinion represents. He is not the only person in the galaxy to think of my people in such a way. It was… wrong of me to believe so, but I thought that…" She paused, unable to look into her friends eyes. "… I thought that if I could change _his _opinion, then perhaps there would be hope that others would change."

Red Star frowned. "… I am sorry."

She smiled and laid a supportive hand on his shoulder. "You have nothing to apologise for. I know why you did what you did, and I _do_ appreciate it. I simply want you to understand why I did not want you to do it."

He nodded. "I do understand."

Starfire smiled. "Thank you."

"Hey! I wasn't doing anything!"

The four occupants looked around to see Gnaww being shoved up the stairs by an annoyed Raven.

"I just found Mr Hygiene here nosing around Cyborg's room."

Cyborg's entire face seemed to lengthen in shock and anger, and Gnaww visibly shrank as he trudged his way over.

"And just _what _were you doing in _my _room?"

"I uh…" Gnaww laughed nervously, pulling at his collar. "I was just checking if my ship was ready yet."

"I will tell you when your rust pile of a ship is ready. In the meantime, find a corner and SIT IN IT!"

Gnaww yelped and jumped three times higher than he should have been able to, before running down the stairs in sheer fright. Raven sighed and made her way downstairs.

Robin gestured over to Red Star and Starfire that they were going downstairs, and the two nodded. The Boy Wonder walked up alongside Cyborg, and the two made their way down the stairs.

"So… how've things been while we've been away?"

Cyborg sighed. "Pretty crazy, man. Y'know, I thought this whole 'bigger team' thing would make this easier, but I swear we're getting less done."

Robin paused on the stairway, and Cyborg stopped to look back at him. "You okay, man? I was just kidding."

The Boy Wonder shook his head. "Yeah. Fine. Sorry."

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Starfire sat on the floor at the window of the lounge area, staring out at the city. The raindrops poured down on the windows, and she felt herself becoming hypnotised by the small droplets navigating their way down the glass. The room was unusually loud – at least, from what she was used to. Cyborg and Beast Boy were on the Gamestation, as per usual (although Beast Boy seemed to be moving less than usual; Starfire also noticed that he was begin very delicate when he sat down, as though trying to be careful not to hurt himself). Gnarrk sat on the sidelines, mesmerised by the moving colours onscreen.

Hot Spot and Argent were sat at the dining table drinking coffee, while Timmy and Teether ran around them, pulling on their legs and their arms in a bid to get their attention. Raven was sat at the kitchen counter, reading a book and sipping her herbal tea. Melvin had obviously found a role model in Raven, because she was sat directly behind the pale skinned Titan, mimicking her attitude and movements, sipping her own cup of hot chocolate while reading a comic book. Starfire found this adorable and amusing, particularly since Bobby, being a part of Melvin's subconscious, had taken on this kind of attitude as well. The imaginary bear was sat behind Melvin with a similar expression on its face, although it was looking at its hand rather than a book.

Jericho and Kole were sat on the sofa next to Cyborg and Beast Boy, but seemed blissfully unaware of the noise going on around them. Jericho was playing his guitar, looking at a piece of music that Kole was holding out. Starfire smiled at the sight of the couple, though she did feel a slight pang of envy for how easily they showed affection for one another; she would say something, they would laugh, and he would reply in sign language, causing Kole to blush and peck him on the cheek, reversing the effect.

A pair of footsteps made their way over to her, and she looked up to see Robin standing above her, a friendly smile on his face. He sat down next to her with a grunt, looking out over the waterlogged city.

"How are you holding up?"

Starfire smiled and shrugged. "I am 'holding up' well."

Robin smiled, and then looked around the room. "Where's Red Star?"

"He is making sure that Gnaww does not do anything… unsavoury."

The Boy Wonder laughed quietly at her choice of words. Starfire looked up at him, gazing directly where his eyes would be. "And you? How are you 'holding up'?"

He sighed, and looked down at his left arm, which hung loosely in its cast. "I'm finding myself wishing that Larry was here," he said, and Starfire smiled.

"I would not say that out loud, if I were you. He may hear you."

The two laughed and looked out over the city.

"So… how are you holding up really?" Robin asked, still keeping his eyes on the city. Starfire felt surprised for a brief moment, but then remembered who she was talking to. He could almost always tell what was going on in her head.

"I am… recovering. But… every time I close my eyes, I am in that chamber… everything is dark, and I cannot feel anything except… pain. I…" she stopped as she struggled to keep her voice level. She felt something grip her hand, and she looked down to see Robin's gloved hand firmly grasping hers.

"It's okay. You're here now."

"I know," she said, gazing into his eyes. "It… it makes me feel better… knowing that Blackfire helped me. I do not know why she did it, or if I will ever see her again, but…" she sighed. "It is nice to think that some part of her loves me as her sister."

Robin put his arm around her, and they looked out over the city.

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Argent sighed as she saw the Boy Wonder put his arm around Starfire's shoulder. Hot Spot leaned forward as he saw her expression, and followed her gaze over to the happy couple.

"Oh…" he said quietly.

Argent looked back at him, but then quickly looked down at her coffee, wrapping both hands around the cup.

"Pretty stupid, eh?"

Hot Spot smiled and shook his head. "If it's stupid, then a lot of women are stupid." He nodded over at the spiky haired teen who was sat at the window. "He's a, uh… popular guy."

"Yeah, but how many of those women actually think they've got a chance with him?"

Hot Spot paused. "Ah."

"Yeah," Argent said, laughing quietly.

"Eh…" Hot Spot said, nonchalantly. "Don't worry about it. I'm sure there are plenty of acrobatic, brooding, spiky haired crime fighters who are the sidekicks of a legendary hero."

"Actually," Argent said, smiling into her mug, "I think I'm after a different kind of fella."

Hot Spot cocked a curious eyebrow. "Is that right?"

"Uh huh," she said, her smile turning into a smirk as she sipped her coffee.

Hot Spot smiled as he sipped his coffee in return.

Working with the Titans was a strange business. But it did have its perks.

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Robin stifled a yawn as he entered the lounge room. He paused in mid-stretch at the thought. Since he started living with the Titans, he hadn't stifled a yawn in a long time.

_Maybe it's a sign._

He looked around the empty room, not knowing exactly how long it had been since he had seen the room without anyone in it. Robin felt a pang of something in his stomach, and realised that he missed the feeling of peace and quiet in the morning – where no-one was around, and he knew who would wake up to greet him in the morning.

Now he never knew from on moment to the next who was going to walk through the door and start a fuss. He walked over to the kitchen and pulled a box of cereals from the cupboard, and poured himself a bowl. The Boy Wonder made his way over to the table and sat down, looking at the newspaper he had collected from the base of the Tower.

He struggled to concentrate enough to read it. A grumble vibrated in his throat, and the young Titan resolved to simply eat his breakfast. His ears perked as he heard the doors swish open, and he looked up to see Hot Spot making his way in. He nodded sleepily at the Boy Wonder, accompanied by a dreary grunt of a greeting.

The Moroccan Titan slowly poured himself a bowl of cereal and made his way over to the table, sliding into the seat opposite Robin.

"Sleep well?" the Boy Wonder asked.

Hot Spot just grunted, and Robin smiled.

"Guess not."

The two sat in silence as they ate, Robin pretending to read the paper as best he could so as to avoid an awkward situation.

"I didn't know you took so long to read the cartoons."

Robin looked up at the smiling Hot Spot, and looked down at the page he was 'reading'. It _was _the cartoons. Robin hardly ever looked at them, if he was honest. He certainly wouldn't spend that much time reading them.

"Uh…"

"It's okay. You didn't like the awkwardness. I get it."

"No no no. I can talk. Let's talk."

Hot Spot smiled. "Thanks, but I know a pity talk when I hear one."

"No… seriously. I would like to, uh…talk to you…"

He cocked an eyebrow at the Boy Wonder. "Something important?"

Letting out a sigh, Robin took to absent-mindedly stirring his cereal rather than looking at Hot Spot. "I was just wondering whether this expanded team was a good idea."

Hot Spot rolled his eyes. "Oh, for- this again? Look, I told you Robin, I'm _not _that homesick."

"No, it's not that. Well, not completely. I-" he sighed. "Let me put it this way; would you rather be here or at home?"

Hot Spot paused. "Well, home, but-"

"Exactly. For me and the other four Titans, this _is _home. But the rest of you… you already have homes. Homes I don't have a right to take you away from."

"But it was our choice to come here, Robin."

"I know, but… I can't help but feel that you're staying here just because you think we expect you too."

Hot Spot took in a deep breath. "It seems to me like you're looking for reasons to get rid of us," he said, smiling.

"That's ridiculous."

"Is it? Every time I bring up a point, you battle against it. Robin," he said, leaning forward, "it's okay for you to want to send us away because _you _want to. Personally, you five work so well together, I wondered why you even invited us in to begin with."

Robin was silent as he looked down at his cereal. He grunted. "My cereals have gone soggy."

"Time to let them go, huh?"

The Boy Wonder looked up at him. "I suppose so."

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Robin stood before the gathered heroes, looking out over the crowd before him. They had gathered in the gymnasium, since the rain outside had been refusing to let up. Behind him stood Beast Boy, Cyborg, Raven and Starfire, each one looking at him supportively. He had discussed his plan of action with them, and they had appreciated the thought. The Robin of old would have simply called the meeting and let them find out that way.

Cyborg gave him a thumbs up to signify that the link up to the other Titan's communicators was working. Obviously, some Titans couldn't be there for this meeting, so they had organised for the Titan equivalent of a televised broadcast. He looked forward and brought his mouth to the microphone.

"Titans," he began, and patiently waited for their murmuring to die down. Once he had their attention, he continued speaking.

"I've gathered you here to talk to you about the future of the Teen Titans. You all came together to help us defeat the Brotherhood of Evil. We're grateful for that, and for your continuing service to fighting crime around the globe. But now…" he said, casting his gaze across the crowd.

Hot Spot smiled and gave him a nod. Kole and Jericho looked at him intently, their hands intertwined.

"…it's time for you to go home."

A murmur spread across the crowd, and Robin put up his hands defensively.

"Let me explain, please."

The crowd quietened.

"This isn't out of some elitist attitude. This is because I don't want to keep you from your homes any longer. This is because we are expending more resources trying to be one team than if we were spread around the world. So many of us are from different corners of the globe, we have the entire planet covered without having to constantly co-ordinate with one another."

He paused, letting that information sink in.

"You are free to come and go from the Tower as you please, but I'm not going to push you together into teams that don't work on missions that you can't accomplish. Some of you work best alone; others work best as part of a team. And when you try and mess with that…" he looked over his shoulder at the four heroes stood behind him before looking back at the audience.

"…you lose something very special." He paused for a moment. "That's all."

He stepped back from the microphone, and made his way back to the four behind him. Cyborg put a hand on his shoulder.

"You did the right thing, man."

Starfire nodded vehemently. "Indeed."

"Yeah – I was beginning to miss you guys," Beast Boy admitted, absent-mindedly rubbing a jellyfish sting on his shoulder.

Raven allowed a small quirk of a smile. "I was wondering when you'd come around. Having Beast Boy making noise is enough."

Robin smiled back as Beast Boy scowled at Raven, and looked out over the crowd. Each and every one seemed much more happy at the news, and the Boy Wonder felt a warmth creep up inside him.

"Yeah," he said, his smile growing, "it'll be nice to have everything back to normal."

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Hot Spot looked out over the city, marvelling at the sun kissed appearance of the city as it glistened from the earlier rainstorm. He looked over at Argent, who had a similar expression on her face.

"It'll be sad to leave this."

"Well… Robin did say we didn't have to leave right away."

Argent shrugged. "Yeah, but I'm itching to get back home. Beginning to miss the old hometown, y'know?"

Hot Spot nodded. "Oh yeah. I'm looking forward to sleeping in my own bed again."

"But… you'll stay in touch, right?"

The Moroccan hero grinned. "Is Gnaww a disgusting rat thing?"

Said alien rat shot him a dirty look from ramp of his ship, and Hot Spot just smirked at him, his arms crossed.

Cyborg walked down the ramp of the ship, dusting his hands off as he came down. "There. All done. It may actually work a little better."

Gnaww grumbled something incomprehensible and made his way up the ramp.

"You're welcome, sunshine," Cyborg muttered, a scowl growing on his face as he walked to the door and downstairs.

Robin stepped forward, Starfire and Red Star beside him.

"Thanks for your help. We wouldn't have survived without it."

"Yeah, whatever. It's not like you gave me any choice," Gnaww spat back, glaring over at Argent spitefully.

Robin scowled, and seemed ready to bite back with a retort of his own when Starfire's calming hand on his shoulder cooled his ire.

"But still," he said, teeth clenched, "thank you."

"Whatever."

Gnaww turned and walked up the ramp. The ship couldn't take off fast enough, quickly shooting off into the sky. Hot Spot shielded his eyes with his hand as he looked up at the fast disappearing dot.

"_There's _one guy I won't miss…"

"Ditto," Argent said, looking up at the same spot.

Robin looked over at Red Star.

"Are you sure you don't want to stay?"

The Russian hero smiled. "Thank you, but I cannot. I still need to repair the damage I did to my home." He paused. "My country does not have people like you to protect it. I must do my best on my own."

A small smirk crept across Starfire's face. "Although I hear Pantha is moving to Russia with Wildebeest."

Red Star's cheeks became a similar hue to the red star on his chest. "I uh… would not know about that."

"Of course not."

Robin smiled and extended his hand. "It's been an honour working with you."

"And you."

He stepped back, allowing Starfire to talk to Red Star privately. She wrapped her arms around the hulking Russian as best she could, and he grimaced as she managed to crush his huge frame in her arms.

"I will miss you, Leonid."

"And I you," he managed, before Starfire released him, a sheepish look crossing her face. "But I am not truly leaving. I will visit, and remember…" he said, pulling out his communicator. "I am but a call away."

Starfire smiled, her eyes wet with sadness and happiness all at once. "Thank you, Leonid."

Red Star pushed off from the Tower, keeping his eyes locked on Starfire's for the longest time before turning and shooting off in the direction of his homeland.

Even though there was no way he could have seen it, Starfire still waved to her rapidly departing friend, and Robin smiled.

"He'll be back, Starfire."

"I know," she sighed. "And I understand why he had to leave. But that does not change that I wish he was still here."

Robin put his arm around her, and the two looked up at the sky.

Hot Spot leaned over to Argent, speaking out of the side of his mouth.

"By the way – what were you and Robin doing on that planet when I was asleep? I remember you two seemed to be a bit… wierded out by something."

"Well… um…"

Robin, oblivious to what the two were talking about on the other side of the roof, looked over at Starfire.

"Hey. How about we go in and have something to drink? There's some fresh mustard in the cupboard _and _the fridge."

"I would like that," Starfire said, smiling at the Boy Wonder.

"YOU WERE TRYING TO KISS ROBIN?" Hot Spot yelled in surprise.

Everyone looked over at Hot Spot, who quickly put his hands over his mouth.

"Did I say just that?" he whispered to Argent. She nodded quickly.

Starfire looked over at Robin, who was sweating profusely as he smiled.

"You were trying to kiss Argent?"

"I… w- I… I… Hot Spot…" he growled, glaring at Hot Spot.

The Moroccan hero laughed nervously.

"Oops?"

Living with the Titans was a strange, _strange_ business.

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(A/N: I've put up an epilogue too, so don't stop reading yet!)


	10. Epilogue

Disclaimer: I don't own _Teen Titans_.

_**A Strange Business**_

_**Epilogue**_

As he sped out of Earth's atmosphere, Gnaww pondered his options.

"I could go to the Citadel homeworld… offer him a deal… I could find a way to trap those kids again…"

He grinned as he cackled with glee, imagining the riches he would receive.

"Emperor Spooj won't be able to touch me!"

A sudden loud crash interrupted his train of thought. The ship was rocked by another loud noise, although this one sounded like an impact of some sort. Using the newly repaired scanners, he checked for any asteroids or satellites, but found nothing that could be causing the damage.

Another loud crash, but this one was accompanied by a decompression warning from his scanners. He looked down at the flashing indicator sceptically.

"Huh. I didn't even know I _had _a decompression warning light…"

The flashing indicator suddenly stopped. He flicked the light, eyeing it suspiciously.

"Piece of junk! I knew he hadn't repaired it properly!"

An explosion rocked the bridge, knocking the door behind Gnaww from it's placement in the door frame. Gnaww pulled out his blaster from his holster, pointing it at the cloud of smoke that churned forth from the empty doorway. A figure slowly began to take shape as the smoke cleared. Gnaww's eyes widened as he recognised him.

"Oh… no…" he breathed.

"Oh yeah," a deep voice came back, and the figure stepped forward, his thick boots thumping on the metal floor of the bridge. "I parked my chopper in the wall. Hope ya' don't mind."

He grunted, impressed, as he took in his surroundings. "This place looks cleaner than the last time I fragged it, Gnaww," he said, looking around the large room with his red, pupil-less eyes. "What happened? Ya get in touch with your feminine side?"

Gnaww was frozen in place. "I… I…"

"Havin' trouble talkin', Gnaww? I don't blame ya. I'd be pretty fraggin' scared a' me if I was a little rat-fragger, too."

Gnaww squeezed his eyes shut and fired his blaster. The yellow bolts of energy bounced harmlessly off the towering figure's broad chest.

"Ooo! That tickles!"

A large white hand sprang forward and crushed the blaster before grabbing Gnaww by the neck and slamming his head into the roof, knocking him unconscious.

He neatly tucked Gnaww under his arm.

"Emperor Spooj has got a little somethin' to talk to you about, Gnaww. And the Main Man always delivers on time."

Lobo turned and made his way back to his bike. Maybe he'd stop somewhere for a drink first.

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THE END.

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(A/N: And that's the end. Some of you may not know who Lobo is, but for those who do, I hope you enjoyed his appearance. He was in the _Superman: The Animated Series _episodes 'The Main Man, part 1 and 2' and 'Heavy Metal Queen', as well as the _Justice League _episode 'Hereafter'.

Before I sign off, I'd just like to thank the following for reviewing:

Daray Darus: Thanks for you review!

Hhgbh: Thanks for your reviews – they're appreciated just as much here as on my other fics. It's great to see you enjoying the stories as much as I hoped.

Konoha-Traitor-Sasuke: Thanks for the review!

Spoonvonstop: Your stories officially ROCK. Ahem. Thanks for you reviews; it was nice to hear from a fellow _Teen Titans _fan fic writer (even if you did steal first place from me… grumble, grumble…)

Crazy Girl Person: Lookin' forward to more of 'The Beast Within' – I like that you're combining characters not usually seen interacting very much in the show.

Gizmo: Thanks for your reviews, and the dangerously ego-boosting comments. It's not a good thing to boost, I tell you.

12345: I'm glad that you came to like Red Star – I was really trying to characterise him past the self pitying guy we saw in 'Snowblind'.

Akamai: Well? Were you right in your guess about Robin's actions? I'm hoping I wasn't too predictable, but I guess I did lay it on a little thick in earlier chapters. I just wanted to give a reason for there being thirty Titans in 'Titans Together' to five of them in 'Things Change'.

Jarkes: Thanks for the reviews – I'm glad you enjoyed the story!

Red: I did some more Jericho/Kole in the later chapters – I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Dust-in: I hope you enjoyed the heavy Jericho/Kole stuff, too – I'll probably do a Beast Boy/Raven somewhere down the road, don't worry.

ChunkyMunky241: Damn… I'm spoiling you with those little nods. First the Thanagarian mention, and now the Main Man. I hope you enjoyed his appearance – its set me on the course of thinking about writing a _Justice League _story starring Lobo and J'onn J'onnz, but I just need a good story to go with it first. Anyway, thanks for your reviews!

Bunnysquirrel: Thanks for the review, though I'm still confused as to what you meant by what happened in the comics… were you talking about the events of _Infinite Crisis #4_?

Ravenjade: Glad you liked the comic nods – hoping you caught the mention of Pantha in Chapter 9…

Shadow929: I've probably told you this in a review reply, but if you like KF/Jinx, you should check out my _Justice League _story, 'Connections' – it's got some KF/Raven in there too, if you like that. Thanks for the review!

Login: I did Jericho/Kole in the earlier chapters. Hope you enjoyed it!

Meiriona: I thank you kindly for your reviews, and humbly ask for more chapters of 'Shreya to Jinx'.

Larry: Jericho/Kole's been done earlier in the story. Hope you liked it!

Darth Cruel: Thanks for the review – it's always cool to get reviews from fellow writers.

If I missed anyone, then I apologise and thank you as well. And, of course, thanks to those of you that review this chapter.

Also, thanks to:

The World's Finest website - for help with the spelling of Gnaww and Emperor Spooj's names.

Titans Tower website – for general info on the Titans themselves (especially for the origins of Hot Spot, Argent and the Citadel).

Anyhoo, reviews be groovy.

"This is navigation officer Super Chocolate Bear, signing off.")


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